546 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



alone. Five experiments have been re- 

 ported in different years by the Ontario 

 agricultural college on the relative values 

 of sweet and sour whey for hogs. The 

 average of these experiments shows that 

 100 pounds of sweet whey has saved 

 11.9 pounds of grain and that 100 pounds 

 of sour whey has saved 10.9 pounds of 

 grain. The meat produced has been 

 equally firm in both cases. In four of 

 the foregoing tests sour whey gave 

 slightly better gains than sweet whey. 

 In one test, however, the sweet whey lot 

 gave phenomenally large gains and this 

 brought up the average sufficiently to 

 make a better showing than for the 

 sour whey. 



Analyses of the sweet and sour wheys 

 indicated that fermentation took place 

 entirely at the expense of the sugar in 

 the whey. In general the tests and analy- 

 ses indicated that sour whey is about 

 equally as valuable for pig feeding as 

 sweet whey. Subsequent experiments 

 show the feeding value of 100 pounds of 

 whey to be equivalent to 14 pounds of 

 meal. In the test about 2 pounds of 

 whey was fed to each pound of meal. 

 It is usually regarded as about one-half 

 as valuable as skim milk. 



Tankage — Some of our most valuable 

 concentrated nitrogenous feeding stuffs 

 are obtained as by-products in the 

 slaughter of animals at the large pack- 

 ing centers. Among the most impor- 

 tant of these are tankage, meat meal, 

 meat scraps and dried blood. Tankage 

 is made of scraps of meat, bone, sinews, 

 lungs, intestines and other like wastes. 

 These materials are cooked in a tank 

 under very heavy pressure for a number 

 of hours or until all the various sub- 

 stances are entirely broken down and 

 the fat liberated. Upon standing, the 

 fats rise to the top and are skimmed off. 

 The more solid portions sink to the bot- 

 tom, while the liquid portion, which is 

 also very rich in nitrogenous matter, is 

 drawn off. The solid portion at the 

 bottom, after it has been thoroughly 

 dried and ground, is known as "tankage," 

 and contains from 55 to 60 per cent of 

 protein, 15 to 18 per cent of ash and 12 

 to 15 per cent of fat. 



The tank water which is drawn off is 

 evaporated down and thoroughly dried 

 and is known as "digester tankage." 

 This contains about 70 per cent of pro- 

 tein in a form well suited for quick as- 

 similation by the feeding animal. This 



material is largely used to reinforce or- 

 dinary tankage when it contains less 

 than about 60 per cent of protein. 



A large number of experiments with 

 tankage as a feeding stuff for swine has 

 been reported by the experiment stations. 

 At the Indiana station tankage was fed 

 in the proportion of one part tankage 

 to five and 10 parts corn meal or corn 

 meal and shorts mixed. Better and 

 cheaper gains were made on the meal 

 and tankage than when the meal was 

 fed alone. The animals which received 

 the tankage had silkier coats of hair, 

 fresher appearing skin and a keener ap- 

 petite than those receiving only corn 

 meal and the use of tankage by farmers 

 as a supplement to corn in swine feeding 

 is urged. 



At the Iowa station the addition of 

 tankage to a ration of corn increased the 

 net profits over 34 per cent in one in- 

 stance and 7 per cent in another. At 

 the Nebraska station in one experiment 

 the cost of pork production was lessened 

 68 cents per hundred pounds by adding 

 to the ration 5 per cent of tankage. 

 Somewhat better results were obtained 

 with younger hogs when 10 per cent of 

 tankage was used. In the experiments at 

 that station hogs fed tankage have con- 

 sumed more feed, made larger gains and 

 were less easily put off feed than hogs fed 

 straight corn ration. That station ad- 

 vises the adding of the tankage to soaked 

 corn just before feeding rather than mix- 

 ing with corn before soaking and allow- 

 ing the tankage time to soak and possibly 

 become rancid before feeding. The 

 tankage also had a marked effect in in- 

 creasing the strength of the bones of the 

 hogs as compared with those of hogs fed 

 on a corn ration or on shorts and alfalfa 

 pasture. 



Experiments at the Michigan station 

 indicate that digester tankage can be 

 used successfully as a substitute for skim 

 milk in the ration for growing pigs from 

 the weaning time on. It is very valu- 

 able also during the fattening period. 

 On the average experiments indicate 

 that the most economical gains will be 

 made when the tankage is used in the 

 proportion of about one part tankage to 

 10 parts grain. A little more rapid gains 

 may be made when the proportion is one 

 to five or six, but the greater rapidity is 

 secured at an increased cost for the 

 gain. 



