S36 



FARMER' 8 CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



of the more nitrogenous feeds as a sup- 

 plement to the corn and brings out 

 dearly the great desirability of supple- 

 menting the all-corn diet with more ni- 

 trogenous feed. Stated in another way, 

 the use of this supplementary nitroge- 

 nous food made the corn about 40 per 

 cent more valuable for the production of 



P° rk - . 1 X J 



At the Michigan station, hogs ted 



corn meal made 15.9 per cent better gains 



for a period of four weeks than similar 



hogs fed the same amount of corn on the 



cob. Like results were also secured at 



the New York state station. 



The Kentucky station made a com- 

 parison of shelled corn alone with shelled 

 corn combined with a number of other 

 supplements. On shelled corn alone the 

 average gain was 0.7 pound a day; on 

 two-thirds shelled corn and one-third soy 

 beans 1.16 pounds; on one-half shelled 

 corn and one-half dried distillery grains 

 1 pound a day. When the ration was 

 made up of two-thirds shelled corn and 

 one-third dried distillery grains the av- 

 erage gain was 0.63 pound a day. 



The New Hampshire station found 

 ground corn and cob to have a slightly 

 higher feeding value for pigs than corn 

 on the ear. Nevertheless, it was more 

 economical to feed corn on the ear than 

 to draw it to the mill and grind it. The 

 Kentucky station found corn and cob 

 meal a rather inferior food for hogs 

 and it was but little relished. Corn and 

 cob meal must be ground much finer for 

 hogs than for cattle if as good results 

 are to be obtained. If the proportion of 

 cob to grain is high the feed is bulky 

 and unpalatable to hogs. When corn 

 shells out 6 to 12 pounds of cob to the 

 bushel of grain it can be profitably used 

 for hogs, but when it goes much above 

 these limits, hogs do not do as well on 

 it as on corn meal alone. When the 

 amount of cob constituted 14 pounds per 

 bushel the Missouri station found that 

 much more profitable results were se- 

 cured when wheat bran was used as a 

 lightener of the meal than when ground 

 cob was used. It contains too much 

 bulky, unpalatable and undigestible fiber 

 to make it sought for as a feeding stuff 

 for swine. 



At the West Virginia station hogs fed 

 soaked old grain required but 385 pounds 

 to produce 100 pounds of gain, while 

 another similar lot fed dry corn, re- 

 quired 410 pounds to produce 100 pounds 

 of gain. 



At the Ontario agricultural college, 

 exclusive corn feeding to hogs intended 

 for bacon, for a somewhat extended pe- 

 riod, produced bacon of an extremely 

 soft and undesirable character. No evil 

 effects were noted from the corn when 

 fed to hogs that had plenty of exercise 

 until they had reached 100 pounds live 

 weight, or had been fed skim milk with 

 a mixed grain ration until they had 

 reached 100 pounds live weight. 



Corn meal — Generally speaking, 

 ground corn is more effective in produc- 

 ing gains than whole grain. In experi- 

 ments at the Wisconsin station with 

 nearly 200 medium sized hogs, the gain 

 from grinding varied from 8 to 17.6 per 

 cent. Only in two cases was there a 

 loss from grinding. Usually the gain 

 did not exceed 8 per cent, an amount 

 which usually does not exceed the cost of 

 grinding. The gains are usually a little 

 more rapid on ground grains. With 

 cheap grains it probably will not pay to 

 grind, but when grains are expensive and 

 pork high, grinding may prove profit- 

 able. 



At the West Virginia station, hogs 

 fed four weeks on ground corn gained 

 about 28 per cent more than similar hogs 

 fed whole corn. It is explained, how- 

 ever, that the hogs had been previously 

 getting ground corn and the change to 

 whole corn was not relished. The re- 

 sult of 12 experiments at eight differ- 

 ent stations along this line show an 

 average of 505 pounds of whole corn, or 

 472.9 pounds of ground corn for 100 

 pounds of gain. This shows an average 

 of about 6 per cent less ground corn to 

 make a pound of gain than of whole 

 corn. It is generally held that unless a 

 farmer is located near a mill, it will not 

 pay to have corn ground, the extra cost 

 of grinding more than counterbalancing 

 the extra feeding value of the corn. 

 Corn meal, like whole corn, gives the 

 best results when supplemented by some 

 more nitrogenous material like skim 

 milk, tankage or soy beans. 



Hogging corn — I n many of the west- 

 ern states where corn stover is not of 

 special value, farmers make a practice of 

 letting the hogs gather the grain from 

 the standing corn. The hogs are turned 

 into the fields as soon as the grain begins 

 to form and while they are apparently 

 wasteful feeders, they usually get about 

 every kernel of corn in the field. The 

 stover is, of course, practically a com- 

 plete loss, but the hogs make rapid gains 



