COOKING FOOD FOR PIGS. 239 



of barley, and the other three were obliged to make up 

 the deficiency in eating more mangels. And so the total 

 gain, in proportion to total food consumed, is not as great 

 as it otherwise would have been. The amount, of actual 

 dry matter in the food, required to produce 1 Ib. of in- 

 crease, is nearly identical in both pens 8 1 | a Ibs. 



With pigs, when they are allowed all the grain they 

 will eat, we have no doubt that soaking the grain would 

 show still better results. In this country, where we feed 

 so few roots, the experience of farmers indicates that they 

 have a greater nutritive value than the mere amount of 

 nutriment they contain would indicate. This is attribu- 

 table, to a certain extent, to the fact that the food in the 

 roots is intimately mixed with a large amount of water. 

 Now, by soaking grain, it absorbs a considerable amount 

 of water. Barley will absorb nearly half its weight of 

 cold water. When cooked until it bursts open, it doubt- 

 less absorbs a still greater quantity. In the absence of 

 roots, therefore, we may obtain food somewhat resembling 

 them by soaking or cooking grain. With the requisite 

 number of tubs, it is an easy matter to have a constant 

 supply of soaked grain for pigs or other stock. In fact, 

 it would not be a difficult matter to soak the grain until 

 it had absorbed all the water it would take up, and then 

 keep it in a mass, from twelve to sixteen inches deep, 

 until it begins to sprout, whereby a portion of the starch 

 is converted into sugar: As the grain grows, it must be 

 spread out in a thinner layer. But it is probably better 

 to feed it out soon after it commences to sprout, as the 

 process of germination is attended with more or less loss 

 of carbon. 



Where whole grain is steamed, there is a great saving 

 of time and fuel by soaking the grain for 24 or 36 hours, 

 before letting on the steam. We are inclined to think 

 that it can be cooked in this way to fully as much advan- 

 tage as when it is ground into meal. Grain, whether 



