140 HARRIS ON^ THE PIG. 



that, when the manure is taken into consideration, there 

 is no farm stock that pays so well. But it must be con- 

 fessed that the wildest estimates are often made in regard 

 to the value of the manure. By the aid of the above ta- 

 ble it will not be difficult to form a pretty correct estimate 

 of the value of the manure from any given lot of pigs, 

 provided the kind and amount of food consumed is known. 



Thus, if a pig was fed exclusively on corn from the 

 time it was weaned until it had gained 350 Ibs., it would 

 eat about 1,500 Ibs. of corn. Now, as the manure from a 

 ton of corn is worth 86.65, the manure from 1,500 Ibs. is 

 worth $4.99. We may assume, therefore, that when pigs 

 are fed on corn, in the production of every hundred 

 pounds of pork, live weight, we get $1.42 worth of ma- 

 nure. Or, assuming that a fat pig will dress 80 per cent 

 of its live weight, we may conclude that, in the produc- 

 tion of every hundred pounds of pork, we get manure 

 worth $1.78. In other w r ords, in calculating the profit or 

 loss of feeding pigs on corn, we may add I 3 1 4 cents per 

 pound (in gold), to the price of the pork for the value of 

 the manure obtained. 



On the other hand, if the pigs are fed on peas, we 

 get manure worth more than twice as much, and may add 

 3 1 | a cents a pound to the price of the pork for the value 

 of the manure made in its production. In this case, if 

 pork sells for 7 cents per pound, we may calculate that 

 for every dollar's worth of pork sold, we have 50 cents' 

 worth of manure ; or, if the pork sells for 10 1 ), cents per 

 pound, for every dollar's worth of pork sold we have 33 

 cents' worth of manure in the pig pen. 



Boussingault states that pigs from 5 to 6 months old 

 will eat 19 Ibs. of green clover per day equal to about 

 5 Ibs. of clover hay each. On such food we may safely 

 calculate that a good pig will gain half a pound of pork 

 a day ; and if so, a pig that would dress 200 Ibs. would 

 have eaten green clover equal to one ton of clover hay;; 



