SWINE 



547 



Meat meal is very similar in compo- 

 sition to tankage and is made from like 

 materials. For practical purposes the 

 two terms are nearly synonymous. It 

 should be used in small amounts as a 

 highly nitrogenous supplement to more 

 starchy rations like corn in the propor- 

 tion of about one part meat meal to 10 

 parts other grain. Like tankage, the 

 feeding of meat meal in small amounts 

 seems to result in a healthy, vigorous 

 growth throughout the entire life of the 

 pig. Beef meal when fed at the Wiscon- 

 sin station in the proportion of two parts 

 corn and one of beef meal caused se- 

 rious digestive disturbances, a number 

 of the pigs in the experiment dying 

 from this cause, when three to seven 

 months old. The nutritive ratio in this 

 case was 1 : 2.6. This ration was ex- 

 pensive and unsatisfactory. To be of 

 value beef meal must be fed in much 

 smaller amounts, as noted above. 



Dried blood or blood meal is the most 

 highly concentrated nitrogenous feeding 

 stuff we have. It contains on the aver- 

 age about 85 per cent of protein in a 

 very valuable form for animals. It should 

 be fed in even smaller amounts than 

 tankage, primarily as a tonic and appe- 

 tizer and to produce a well balanced ra- 

 tion. At the Ontario agricultural col- 

 lege blood meal and tankage proved 

 about equally valuable and fully equal 

 to skim milk in the production of firm 

 bacon. Not more than one part blood 

 meal to 15 or 20 parts grain should be 

 used. 



CONDIMENTAL OR PATENT FEEDING STUFFS 



— There are a large number of condi- 

 mental or patent stock foods on the mar- 

 ket. These are widely advertised and 

 wonderful claims made for them. The 

 more important of these have been tested 

 experimentally at a number of the differ- 

 ent stations. Generally speaking, no 

 better results are secured from them than 

 by the use of well compounded rations 

 which the farmer himself can easily pre- 

 pare, while the cost for them is entirely 

 out of proportion to their value either 

 as feeds or tonics. The chief constit- 

 uents of the larger number of these con- 

 dimental stock feeds are common salt, 

 sulphur, charcoal, pepper and gentian, 

 while fenugreek is present in practi- 

 cally all of them and is the most im- 

 portant constituent they contain. It is, 

 however, usually present in such small 

 amounts as to be of really very little 



value from a medicinal standpoint. There 

 is no especial objection to these stock 

 foods other than the excessively high 

 prices paid for them. There is hardly a 

 doubt but that in many cases the use 

 of oil meal or of tankage or skim milk 

 will give fully as good results as these 

 high priced condimentals. American 

 Stock Food, fed in small amounts with 

 shorts and hominy at the Indiana sta- 

 tion, did not result in as heavy gains as 

 when it was omitted as shown in the 

 following table: 



American No 

 Stock condi- 

 Food mental 

 Total gain in 12 days. .682 lbs. 689 lbs. 

 Average daily gain . .1.42 lbs. 1.43 lbs. 

 Cost of production per 

 lb 3 cts. 2.6 cts. 



It is thus seen that American Stock 

 Food increased the cost of gain 15.3 per 

 cent. In another experiment at the same 

 station Eauh's Stock Food fed with the 

 grain ration at the rate of a tablespoon- 

 ful per feed for part of the test followed 

 by Standard Stock Food for the remain- 

 der gave a slightly increased total gain 

 over no stock food, the profits for 3V2 

 months being 48 cents in favor of the 

 stock food. At the Iowa station the use 

 of Standard Stock Food for Swine in- 

 creased the feeding value of each bushel 

 of corn fed 1.2 per cent. 



HAY AND MISCELLANEOUS FEEDS 

 FOR SWINE 



Alfalfa, clover, cowpea and soy beans 

 are frequently fed to pigs in winter to 

 add bulk and variety to the ration, as 

 well as nutriment, with very good re- 

 sults. 



Alfalfa — When shotes were fed al- 

 falfa hay at the Kansas station, 100 

 pounds of the hay saved 64 pounds of 

 grain. It is calculated that one ton of 

 alfalfa hay would make 235 pounds of 

 pork. In one experiment at this station 

 it is shown that an acre of alfalfa hay 

 would produce 868 pounds of pork. 

 Good results in the use of alfalfa hay 

 for swine are also reported by the Mon- 

 tana station. At that station the al- 

 falfa hay was cut and moistened and 

 mixed with the meal. It is believed, 

 however, that hogs will do better when 

 they are allowed access to alfalfa in 

 racks rather than to force it into the 

 ration. The latter method may do for 



