FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



534 



lost in weight on it for nine weeks. At 

 Guelph, in a test lasting about six weeks, 

 hogs fed a ration of middlings alone 

 made TO per cent better gains than a like 

 lot of hogs fed only one-third as much 

 middlings with the remainder of the 

 ration made up of rape silage. In this 

 test a pound of middlings equaled 5.12 

 pounds of rape silage in producing gains. 

 In another trial corn silage was fed to 

 hogs at a loss, and when sliced turnips 

 constituted two-thirds of the ration the 

 gains were but little better. 



The Virginia station found silage eco- 

 nomical when fed with corn in a main- 

 tenance ration, but not so when used 

 alone. At the Utah station silage proved 

 inferior to dried fodder corn. 



On the whole we see that silage is not 

 a desirable feed for hogs except in small 

 amounts, when it should be fed in ad- 

 dition to a full grain ration. Silage, 

 however, made from well-ripened corn 

 may be made to serve as a maintenance 

 ration if fed in sufficiently large amounts. 



GRAINS AND THEIR BY-PRODUCTS 



FOR SWINE 



Barley i s quite extensively used as a 

 food for hogs in Minnesota, Canada and 

 some northwestern states where corn is 

 not a certain crop. At the Minnesota 

 station it was found that during the 

 early stage of feeding 100 pounds of 

 barley meal produced as great a gain 

 as 119.5 pounds of corn meal; and 100 

 pounds of barley meal and shorts (half 

 and half) as great a gain as 105.2 pounds 

 of corn meal and shorts. After the pigs 

 had attained a weight of 125 pounds, 

 100 pounds of corn and shorts produced 

 as much gain as 119 pounds of barley 

 and shorts. For fattening hogs weigh- 

 ing 160 to 300 pounds each it required 

 5.9 pounds of bright meal to 10.3 pounds 

 of barley of poor quality to produce a 

 pound of gain. Similar hogs fed corn 

 required but 5 pounds to produce a 

 pound of gain. 



At the Michigan station hogs weigh- 

 ing 138 pounds each required 5 pounds 

 of barley meal to make a pound of gain, 

 while another lot weighing 148 pounds 

 required but 4.4 pounds of corn meal to 

 produce a pound of gain. 



At the Montana station hogs weighing 

 120 to 125 pounds were fed 53 days on 

 barley alone and required 4.96 pounds 

 of grain for each pound of increase in 

 weight ; on barley and wheat, equal parts, 



4.8 pounds; on barley and peas, 4.7 

 pounds; and on barley, wheat and peas, 

 equal parts, 4.55 pounds. 



At the South Dakota station the pork 

 produced on a ton of barley was worth 

 $13.60, or 33 cents a bushel; on barley 

 and shorts $13.70 a ton; and on barley 

 and corn $12.04 a ton. At the Wash- 

 ington station it was found that barley 

 chops alone was more valuable than 

 wheat chops alone and that barley and 

 wheat mixed was more effective in pro- 

 ducing gain than either alone. 



At the Wisconsin station ground bar- 

 ley has proved to be 8 per cent less valu- 

 able for producing gain in hogs five to 

 14 months old than ground corn. That 

 station states that pigs relish barley meal 

 most when soaked in a comparatively 

 large amount of water, at least 3 pounds 

 of water to each pound of meal. Barley 

 is thought especially valuable for grow- 

 ing hogs and for adding variety to the 

 ration. 



When whole barley was fed to pigs 

 at the Central experimental farm, in 

 Canada, 12.5 per cent passed through the 

 animal undigested, none of which ger- 

 minated. In experiments at the Ontario 

 college barley alone has given good gains 

 and produced exceptionally firm bacon. 

 "A two-thirds ration of barley with all 

 the rape the hogs would eat, followed by 

 about three weeks exclusive barley feed- 

 ing at the close, gave economical gains 

 on the whole and produced bacon of 

 good quality, but scarcely so firm as 

 that produced by barley or that produced 

 by peas and middlings. Barley appears 

 to be an exceptionally safe and valuable 

 food for swine, whether fed alone or in 

 combination with other feeds." 



Beans — Common white, navy, field 

 beans are usually much too expensive 

 to be used as a feeding stuff for hogs. 

 From 5 to 10 per cent of the crop usually 

 falls into the class known as damaged 

 or cull beans, as a result of which more 

 than 100,000 bushels are annually put 

 on the market at a low price for stock 

 foods. These beans should be thoroughly 

 cooked before feeding. Large feeders be- 

 gin on about three parts corn and one 

 part beans and gradually increase the 

 beans until they constitute from one-half 

 to two-thirds of the ration. On an ex- 

 clusive bean ration pigs are likely to 

 scour or get off feed. Besides, beans are 

 a highly nitrogenous ration, containing 

 20 to 25 per cent of protein and an all 



