SWINE 



533 



hogs confined in pens, but no value what- 

 ever for hogs fed in yards. In a later 

 review of the above work by the station 

 it is suggested that the hogs in yards 

 gathered up a considerable amount of 

 roughage in the form of hay, which may 

 account for this curious result. 



When hogs were given a full grain ra 

 tion and allowed the run of an 18-acre 

 pasture, they gained 1.3 pounds per head 

 per day. This is a considerably larger 

 daily gain than was made by the hogs 

 fed either in pens or in yards. When 

 pigs were confined in pens and fed one- 

 fourth of a full grain ration in addi- 

 tion to all the grass they would eat they 

 gained 0.32 pound each per day. On the 

 same grain ration and pasture the gain 

 was 0.64 pound each per day. 



Pigs confined in movable pens on pas- 

 ture and the pens moved twice a day re- 

 quired 20 per cent more grain to make 

 a pound of gain than pigs allowed to run 

 loose in the pasture. The pigs fed grass 

 in these movable pens did not gain as 

 rapidly even as those confined in pens 

 or yards and fed cut grass. 



The experiments taken as a whole 

 hardly show a sufficiently high feeding 

 value for cut grass for hogs confined 

 either in pens or in yards to pay for the 

 trouble of feeding it. It is but just to state, 

 however, that when the hogs fed grain 

 and grass were subsequently fed on full 

 grain rations alone, they did much bet- 

 ter than those that had been fed nothing 

 but grain. In the Utah experiments the 

 feeding of hogs at pasture was satisfac- 

 tory under all conditions. Averaging 

 the results secured in feeding full grain 

 rations, one-fourth grain rations and 

 grass alone to hogs at pasture and com- 

 paring these with the results secured in 

 feeding the same grain rations with 

 grass to pigs confined in pens, a gain of 

 92M> per cent is found in favor of the 

 pasture. The amount of grain eaten by 

 the pigs at pasture was but 2 per cent 

 more than the amount eaten by the pigs 

 in the pens. 



Prickly comfrey was f 0( j to hogs at 

 the New York state station at a loss. 

 The hogs did not relish this green forage 

 plant. Even young pigs fed the prickly 

 comfrey chopped and dusted with meal 

 would not eat enough to produce any 

 gain. 



Many other plants have been used as 

 soiling crops for hogs, but on the whole 

 this method of feeding is never so satis- 



factory as pasture. It has a value, how- 

 ever, in the case of hogs which are being 

 fed grain only. In such cases soil- 

 ing crops sufficient to add variety, suc- 

 culence and bulk to the ration will gen- 

 erally prove beneficial. 



Silage — A number of the experiment 

 stations have fed different kinds of 

 silage to swine, usually with unfavorable 

 results. At the New York station a good 

 quality of silage made from corn ripe 

 enough to husk was fed to shotes for a 

 period of five months. Preliminary 

 trials had shown that the pigs fed silage 

 alone would not eat enough to make any 

 gain unless fed in such large quantities 

 that the grain it contained furnished all 

 the food required. As a maintenance 

 ration for mature hogs during the winter 

 and spring, silage served very well. In 

 feeding the silage the hogs first picked 

 out the grain ; the remainder was chewed 

 over but never all swallowed, even when 

 fed in small quantities. The hogs in 

 one experiment were given nearly a 

 maintenance ration of bran and mid- 

 dlings and in addition as much silage as 

 they would chew over. When the silage 

 constituted about 40 per cent of the ra- 

 tion the cost of producing pork was 

 about the same as where no silage was 

 fed. When 70 per cent of the ration was 

 made up of silage, the cost of producing 

 pork was considerably more than its 

 market value (estimating silage to be 

 worth $1 a ton) and 23 per cent higher 

 than where corn was substituted. 



The Kentucky station records an ex- 

 periment in which silage made of corn 

 and soy beans was used, not as a partial 

 substitute for grain, but as a kind of 

 appetizer and tonic in addition thereto. 

 Pigs in this experiment, on shelled corn 

 alone, gained on the average 0.7 pound 

 a day. While on shelled corn with 

 silage the gain was 0.87 pound a day. 

 Here it is seen that silage had a value 

 in increasing the gains. Based on the 

 figures obtained, a ton of silage repre- 

 sented a gain of 64 pounds of pork. Its 

 chief purpose, in the opinion of the sta- 

 tion, is to supplement the full grain 

 ration as a corrective. In eating it the 

 hogs first picked out the grain and then 

 chewed the remaining portion, swallow- 

 ing only a small part of it. 



At the Ottawa station, in Canada, 

 well prepared pea silage fed with grains 

 to pigs appeared to have no feeding 

 value. When fed alone pigs steadily 



