130 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 



Without going into further details, it is evident that the 

 pigs show a great preference for sugar as compared with 

 starch, but it does not appear that sugar produces any 

 materially greater increase than starch. Certainly there 

 is no benefit approximating in the slightest degree to the 

 increased cost of sugar ; and it is very doubtful whether 

 we should gain any marked advantage by converting our 

 barley into malt or of growing sugar beets instead of 

 ordinary beets or mangel wurzel. 



We should add that a mixture of 20 Ibs. of coal and 

 wood-ashes, 2^ Ibs. of superphosphate of lime and 2% Ibs. 

 of common salt was placed in troughs in the pens. This 

 quantity being distributed to the 12 pigs during each period 

 of two weeks. 



Messrs. Lawes & Gilbert say : This mineral mixture 

 was always taken with the greatest avidity and relish ; so 

 much so, that the animals would leave their other troughs 

 the moment the fresh supply of this was put within their 

 reach. They were, moreover, upon the whole, very healthy 

 throughout the experiment, and yielded good rates of 

 increase. 



In Messrs. Lawes' & Gilbert's account of these experi- 

 ments, the actual gain of each pig is not given. But since 

 writing the above, we have found the weights of the pigs 

 at the commencement and at the end of the experiment, 

 from which it appears that 



the pigs in pen 1 gained 8.2 Ibs. each per week. 

 " " " 2 " 8.2 Ibs. " " 

 " " " 3 9.1 Ibs. " " " 

 " " 4 " 10.4 Ibs. " " " 



To a practical farmer these actual figures are more in- 

 teresting than mere percentage results. From this it 

 would appear that, leaving the question of cost and profit 

 out of the question, there may be cases where, with an 

 unlimited supply of other food, a little sugar may be given 

 to a pig with advantage. A pig with a delicate appetite 



