STOCK RAISING AND SOIL FERTILITY 



193 



feeding they are kept in a single barn 

 without partitions. Twice daily the fat- 

 tening lambs are turned out for a half 

 hour, while the feed racks are being 

 filled with hay. They are kept in the 

 rest of the time to save the manure, 

 which is necessary for successful crop 

 production on the farm. The manure 

 is used on the corn land and as a thin 

 top-dressing for meadows and pastures. 

 The barn is arranged so that plenty of 

 fresh air is available all the time. The 

 labor bill amounts to about $1,500 an- 

 nually and the net profits about $2,500. 

 With sheep as with cattle, thousands 

 of head are annually fattened by farm- 

 ers throughout the corn belt for market. 

 While many of the lambs may be bought 

 in tbe neighborhood, the bulk are from 

 the western ranges. 



son and fattened with corn in the fall. 

 Clover, alfalfa and blue grass pastures 

 furnish ideal conditions for the summer 

 range of the hog. The gains on pasture 

 alone are slow and on business farms 

 some grain or other feed is supplied in 

 addition. 



In the western tier of corn belt states, 

 alfalfa and sorghum are extensively 

 grown as a forage crop for hogs. In 

 many northern states and Canada, rape, 

 clover, peas and oats are the special 

 crops grown to provide hogs with pas- 

 ture. In the South, cowpeas, peanuts, 

 sorghum and Bermuda grass furnish 

 unsurpassed pastures for hogs. Good 

 brood sows will produce from five to 

 10 pigs each litter and have two litters 

 a year. With good pasture and grain 

 feeding, pigs are ready for market when 



Fiff. 140 — DRY, CLEAN FEED LOT, ILLINOIS EXPERIMENT STATION 



Sheep ranching in the West and the 

 fattening of western sheep are consid- 

 ered in detail in the chapter on sheep. 



SWINE FARMING 



Tbe hog is grown more generally 

 throughout the country than any other 

 farm animal. Even a man with only a 

 small village lot frequently keeps a pig 

 or two to eat up the household waste. 

 Nc other farm animal makes such good 

 use of its food in the production of meat 

 as the hog. He is an omnivorous eater. 

 His ration may consist of kitchen slop, 

 farm grains, hay, pasture, roots, fruits, 

 nuts, meat, milk, fish — everything. He 

 is a benediction to the poor man and 

 swells the bank account of the rich. Un- 

 der general farm conditions, hogs are 

 kept on pasture during the growing sea- 



nine to 12 months old and at that time 

 will weigh from 200 to 300 pounds each. 

 When properly managed, there is more 

 money in hogs from the meat stand- 

 point, than from any other farm animal. 

 Swine producing states — The states 

 which supply the bulk of hogs for the 

 packing houses are known as the surplus 

 corn states. These states are Illinois, 

 Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, 

 Nebraska, Ohio, Indiana. So much 

 corn is grown in these states that it is 

 cheaper to send the surplus to market 

 in the form of pork than in its original 

 bulky condition. Berkshire and Poland- 

 China are the favorite breeds. The 

 system of growing is simple. As soon 

 as spring pasture is suitable, pigs are 

 turned on pasture and given a little 

 grain each day. As soon as the corn 



