SWINE 



541 



ity of bacon were produced. It is recom- 

 mended that peas always be fed in 

 combination with other grains for hogs. 



At the Wisconsin station, ground peas 

 proved more valuable for pork produc- 

 tion than corn. Corn, however, being so 

 much cheaper, was the more profitable 

 feed. The thigh bones of pigs fed on 

 peas were 26 per cent stronger than 

 those of corn fed hogs. 



Pea meal at the Maine station did not 

 prove as valuable in a ration for young 

 pigs as skim milk, but with older ani- 

 mals the substitution of pea meal or pea 

 and oat meal for skim milk, either 

 wholly or in part, did not materially 

 change the results. 



Peas are exceedingly valuable feed for 

 growing hogs and for the production of 

 prime bacon. They contain about 23 

 per cent of protein and the greatest 

 amount of good is obtained from them 

 when they are fed in small amounts with 

 a more carbonaceous grain like corn. 

 They are especially valuable for growing 

 pigs and should always be fed either 

 ground or soaked or both. (See also 

 Peas for Pasture.) 



Pigeon grass seed w l ien fed alone to 

 hogs at the Wisconsin station was not 

 relished, but when mixed in the propor- 

 tion of one-third pigeon grass seed and 

 two-thirds corn meal, hogs made nearly 

 as good gains on it as on corn meal 

 alone. When pigeon grass seed was 

 cooked it appeared to be more palatable 

 than when fed raw. When cooked it 

 may constitute two-thirds of the ration. 



Rice by-products — At the Massachu- 

 setts station a good quality of rice meal 

 proved equal in feeding value to the 

 same quantity of corn meal fed hogs 

 weighing from 65 to 190 pounds. At the 

 Vermont station, corn meal proved 25 

 per cent more valuable for pigs than rice 

 meal. At the South Carolina station 

 rice meal and milk proved equal in 

 feeding value to corn meal and milk. 

 In this experiment 2^2 pounds of rice 

 meal and 10 pounds of skim milk pro- 

 duced 1 pound of gain. 



In a number of experiments at the 

 Alabama station, Professor Duggar 

 found rice polish decidedly superior to 

 corn meal as a food for hogs. The 

 average of five experiments shows that 

 a pound of increase was obtained with 

 3.7 pounds of rice polish, while with 

 corn meal 4.7 pounds was required. 

 Rice bran at the same station fed in 



mixtures was unpalatable and resulted 

 in slow growth. 



R y e — This grain is seldom used for 

 hogs in the United States. In Danish 

 feeding tests with 110 animals, rye grain 

 was about equal to barley for pork pro- 

 duction. Rye shorts, however, pro- 

 duced slow gains and had an unfavor- 

 able effect on the quality and softness 

 of the pork. The Massachusetts station 

 considers rye meal a very unsatisfactory 

 feed for hogs for long time feeding, as 

 the animals lose their appetites and have 

 digestive troubles. It is recommended 

 that it be fed with wheat meal or corn 

 meal and in small amounts. 



Screenings—The Minnesota station 

 fattened hogs on ground screenings, cost- 

 ing $6 a ton and corn costing 30 cents a 

 bushel at a cost of $2 a hundredweight. 

 The pigs were fattened in pens for 11 

 months and not allowed access to blue 

 grass or clover pasture in the summer. 

 These results show that screenings may 

 be very profitably used for feeding pur- 

 poses. 



Sorghum seed { s similar in composi- 

 tion and feeding value to kafir corn seed 

 but proved slightly less valuable at the 

 Kansas station for hogs. At the Wis- 

 consin station sorghum seed meal proved 

 about 55 per cent as valuable a feed for 

 hogs as corn meal. 



Soy beans have been found exceed- 

 ingly valuable as a supplement to kafir 

 corn at the Kansas station. The in- 

 creased gains obtained where soy beans 

 constituted one-fifth to one-third of the 

 grain ration have varied from 14.8 to 

 96.4 per cent and there has been a sav- 

 ing in the amount of feed required to 

 produce 100 pounds of gain of from 13.2 

 to 37.5 per cent. The best results at 

 this station have been obtained by feed- 

 ing the beans whole. When they were 

 ground in one experiment, 11 per cent 

 of their feeding value was lost. The use 

 of soy beans in the ration conduces to 

 strong, thrifty and continuous growth 

 and keeps the hair and skin of the hog 

 glossy and of good appearance. The 

 hogs fatten much more rapidly and less 

 feed is required to produce a pound of 

 gain. They are a highly nitrogenous 

 food, as may be seen in the table of anal- 

 yses, and should be made to constitute 

 only about one-fifth to one-fourth of the 

 grain ration. The Kentucky station re- 

 ports a test of corn alone versus a grain 

 ration composed of two-thirds corn and 



