150 to 200 lb., but it should be pointed out that a half-ration of grain (as above) 

 has given the most economical gains for growing hogs on pasture. 



Some hogs are carried on pasture without grain to be marketed at nine or ten 

 month:!. This is seldom economical, because it must be remembered that the older 

 the animal, the more food is required for a given amount of gain in weight. Young 

 pigs should be kept in a thrifty, growing condition at all times. It never pays to 



Yearling Berkshire Sow. 



allow them to cease growing or to get stunted. Brood sows. too. must be kept in 

 good flesh, withorft getting too fat, if large litters of strong pigs are to be expected. 

 The most Successful pork-raisers are those who feed liberally to gain early 

 maturity, while those who feed little grain are generally those who find little profit 

 in the hog business. Skim-milk and buttermilk are valuable flesh and muscle-building 

 foods when fed with grain. A thin slop of inilk. with a little bran or middliu--- 

 excellent for brood sows. Sour skim-milk has given as good results as sweet. 

 Buttermilk, however, if not fed fairly fresh, develops too much acidity. 



WINTER CARE. 



It is often difficult to make hogs take sufficient exercise in the winter. For 

 breeding stock this is essential. Brood sows and boars can be exercised by having 

 a tight board or cement feeding-floor provided with litter in which whole oats or 

 other grain is scattered. They will hunt for the grain for hours if not too well fed 

 otherwise. Unthrashed oat or wheat sheaves may be fed in this way, but the beards 

 of barley are apt to prove troublesome, and the grain is hard. The ration for breed- 

 ing stock should certainly include some fine well-cured clover or alfalfa hay and 

 roots. A cheap winter daily ration for a mature sow or boar is as follows : - 



Bran or oats 1^ lb. 



Shorts n .. 



Roots 10 



Clover-hay U .. 



As high as 20 lb. daily of mangels may be fed dry sows, but as pregnancy 

 advances this amount should be reduced and the grain ration increased. The grain 

 may be mixed with pulped roots or fed in the form of a slop. The hay may be fed 

 in a low rack on the feeding-floor, or if the leaves are picked up off the barn-floor 

 when hay is thrown down, they may be fed in the slop. 



Hay and roots are very useful for young, growing pigs also. They help to 

 develop a strong, roomy digestive system. Root- fed pigs develop larger vital or_ 

 than those winter-fed on dry rations, and are therefore better able to make use of 



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