FEEDING RATIONS. 67 



to ioo pounds, remain a few months and go to the mar- 

 ket weighing about 200 pounds. Meanwhile they have 

 had skim-milk and some grain, mostly home produc- 

 tions. They leave some net cash behind them, of 

 course. I suppose this merely means that it is cheaper 

 to carry the pig to the feed than the feed to the pig, for 

 I live in a dairy district, and skim-milk is a by-product. 



I like the sentiment of Prof. Thomas Shaw, of 

 Minnesota, when he says that corn is to be fed all the 

 way from the weaning period with ' ' prudent modera- 

 tion." Of course at the last it may be given with 

 freedom, but as referring to the whole life of the hog 

 it should not constitute as much as a half of the food. 

 Corn is a grand food, but in the pig's middle life the 

 ration must be carefully balanced and kept from get- 

 ting too wide. 



A good substitute for milk is a mess made of mid- 

 dlings and bran in water two parts of middlings and 

 one of bran. The middlings contain some flour, and 

 the mixture is greatly relished by the hogs. The nu- 

 tritive ratio is about i 14.5. The amount given must 

 depend upon the good judgment of the feeder. It is 

 well to soak .the middlings and bran some hours before 

 feeding ; and corn may be added if it is desired to 

 make a fatting as well as a growing ration. 



In his new book on Feeds and Feeding, Prof. 

 W. A. Henry, of Wisconsin, reduces various foods to 

 what is called a grain basis. For instance, six pounds 

 of skim-milk, twelve pounds of whey, etc., are con- 

 sidered equal to one pound of grain. To make ioo 

 pounds of pork it requires 293 pounds of grain with 

 young pigs as compared to over 500 pounds of grain 



