228 



HARRIS ON THE PIG. 



or 80 bushels in all, would make the difference shown by 

 the figures just given. 



To cook grain for pigs merely for the sake of u making 

 it go further," will seldom pay on ordinary farms. This 

 is particularly the case where grain is^ comparatively 

 cheap, and fuel dear. It is profitable only when adopted 

 for the purpose of enabling the pigs to eat and digest a 

 greater quantity of food, and bring them rapidly forward 

 for market. 



And it is still an open question whether we cannot 

 adopt some cheaper method of increasing the digestibility 

 of grain than grinding or cooking it. Where grain can 

 be ground cheaply on the farm, we would grind or crush 

 it for all kinds of stock. But when it has to be sent 

 some distance to a mill, it is worth while to see if we can- 

 not prepare it at .home. 



In Mr. Lawes' experiments on sheep, eight Hampshire 

 Down sheep were put in two pens, four in each pen, and 

 allowed all the mangel wurzel they would eat. Pen 1 was 

 allowed 1 Ib. of barley for each sheep, per day, the barley 

 being coarsely ground. Pen 2 was allowed the same 

 quantity of barley, also coarsely ground, but before being 

 fed, it was soaked in cold water for 24 or 36 hours. The 

 experiment lasted ten weeks. The following are the 

 results : 



Soaking the barley enabled the sheep to eat more food, 

 and grow 25 per cent faster than those having dry barley. 

 Had the sheep been allowed more of the soaked barley, 

 the result would probably have been still more in favor of 

 the practice. One of the sheep in pen 2 gained 4 Ibs. per 

 week. He probably got more than his just proportion 



