DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



26 5 



Hog Feeding. In the United States hogs are raised largely in the 

 corn belt from Ohio to Kansas. There they are called ' mortgage 

 lifters ' because farmers who became poor raising corn for market 

 got out of debt and prospered when they fed the cheap and abun- 

 dant corn to hogs and sold meat instead of grain. Corn-fed hogs 

 are fat and lardy, and are often disposed to disease. 



Hogs grow faster and are healthier when carried through the 

 summer on green food, such as grass, clover, pea vines, and alfalfa, 



BERKSHIRE HOGS 

 A prize-winning herd of four, weighing 2700 Ib. 



with a small ration of grain, and then are fattened largely on ce- 

 reals, such as oats and corn. Recent feeding experiments show 

 that they make larger and cheaper gains in winter when fed some 

 bulky food, such as clover or alfalfa hay, in addition to their grain 

 ration. For some unknown reason, cotton-seed meal, on which 

 cattle thrive, is usually fatal to pigs, if fed any length of time. 



It is often profitable to plant lots in sweet potatoes, peanuts, and 

 other crops to be harvested by the hogs themselves. 



Hogs are gross feeders, and are more prolific than any other 

 domesticated animal, except the rabbit. Hog flesh can be more 



