22 GUAM AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



PASTUKE CROPS FOR HOGS. 



The experimental data obtained by the station have clearly shown 

 that i)rotitable hog production in Guam depends especially upon the 

 use of jia^tures for giowing and maturing hogs. The cost of im- 

 ported feeds Avould prohibit their use for anything except finishing 

 hogs. Experience has also shown that the land used for pastures 

 must be well drained, else parasitic diseases, especially during the 

 wet seasons, become disastrous. 



"With the object of testing in a preliminary way different pasture 

 crops for hogs, small acreages of cowpeas and soy beans were planted 

 last December. The cowpeas had reached sufficient maturity, namely, 

 the pods were well formed but not ripe, at the end of 78 days to per- 

 mit the hogs being turned into the field of 0.34 acre. The soy beans 

 required only G2 days to have pods well formed, with foliage still 

 green and succulent, when the hogs were turned into the field of 0.20 

 acre. The hogs ate the cowpea Aines and pods greedily, but, though 

 the leaves of the soy beans were eaten at once, the pods were not 

 touched for several days, and they were never completely utilized. 

 These preliminar}^ tests showed conclusively the superiority of the 

 cowpea over the soy bean for hog pasture under Guam conditions. 

 (PI. IV, fig. 1.) While the hogs ate the cowpea vines well down to 

 the ground, the stalks commenced to grow again and would have 

 provided a good second crop of pasture had the dry season not been 

 of such great intensity. Everj^thing points to the fact that during 

 the wet seasons at least two crops of pasturage can be obtained from 

 one seeding of cowpeas. 



Half an acre of Para grass was also given a preliminary test as a 

 hog pasture. Six sows and one boar were turned into the field, and 

 they kept in good flesh throughout most of the extreme dry season. 

 The Para grass proved excellent, although the preliminary test 

 showed that this grass should not be pastured too heavily, and fur- 

 thermore, that it should be given rest periods of at least two out of 

 every five weeks in which to recuperate. 



The new hog pasture is now composed of four lots, two of which 

 will be planted to Para grass during the coming rainy season, leav- 

 ing the other lots for cowpeas, soy beans, and other annual pasture 

 crops. 



Near the end of the fiscal year a project was undertaken to deter- 

 mine definitely the value for hog maintenance and production under 

 Guam conditions of cowpeas, soy l:)eans, peanuts. Para grass, and 

 other valuable hog-pasture crops that may be introduced. The pea- 

 nuts have already been planted, and the cowpeas, soy beans, and Para 

 grass will be put in just as soon as sufficient moisture comes. 



