COOKIXG FOOD FOB PIGS. 



225 



87 1 1 3 Ibs. during the month, the other 100 Ibs., and the 

 other 125 Ibs., and we may then get the following results: 



This is assuming that the grinding and cooking do not 

 add anything to the intrinsic nutriment of the food, but 

 merely render it more digestible. We assume that when 

 whole raw corn is fed, the pig can only digest 87 1 | a Ibs. 

 per month, but when ground and cooked, it can digest 

 125 Ibs., and gains four times as fast. Of course these 

 figures are only hypothetical. They may, or may not, be 

 true. We give them merely to illustrate our meaning, 

 and to show how important it is to have pigs that can eat 

 and digest a large amount of food and consequently how 

 important it is to provide food readily digestible. 



It may be true that cooking enables the pigs to fatten 

 on less food, but if so, it must be owing to the inability 

 of the pigs to digest the raw food. They must void a 

 portion of it in an undigested state. To a certain extent 

 this can be avoided by feeding less grain, and furnishing 

 the necessary bulk to fill the stomach by supplying a por- 

 tion of less concentrated food. When pigs are allowed 

 the run of a clover pasture, they may be fed whole grain 

 without much loss from passing it in an undigested state. 

 The feeder, by examining the feces, can tell how much 

 grain he can feed without loss. If he feeds more than the 

 pigs can digest, he suffers a loss of grain ; but if he feeds 

 less, he suffers a certain amount of digestive power to 

 run to waste. His profits will depend very much on his 

 ability to guard against loss from either source. 



We cannot too often call attention to the great mistake 

 which many farmers make in not- feeding any grain to 



