8 



THE ILLINOIS FAKMER. 



THE GRAZIER. 



From the Valley Fanner. 



Cooking Food for Hogs. 



■ZPIBIKENT OF SAMUIL H. CLIT, OF BOURBON COUNIT, ET. 



The advantages of cooking food for hogs and 

 other farm animals have never yet been duly ap- 

 preciated by 'American farmers; although ou- 

 meroas experiments have been made (usually 

 upon a small scale, it is true) that have gone far 

 to demonstrate its importance. 



In the October No. of the Valley Farmer, we 

 published an article upon this subject, in which 

 we gave the result of the valuable and interest- 

 ing investigations of Dutrochet, Dumas and 

 Baspail, going to show the mysterious and beau- 

 tiful operations of nature in the formation of the 

 various grains and roots which enter iuto the 

 food of man and beast, and of the necessity of 

 their being submitted to a certain degree of heat 

 before their entire constituents could be reduced 

 to that condition most available for digestion and 



assimilation. In that article we alluded to an 

 experiment in feeding hogs, then in progress by 

 Samuel H. Clay, Esq., of Bourbon county, Ky., 

 and promised to give our leaders the result as 

 soon as the facts could be ascertained. Mr. Giay 

 has since very kindly furnished us with a state- 

 ment in full of the number and weight of the hogs, 

 the quantity of grain they consumed, the form in 

 which it was fed to them, and the gain of each 

 animal un 3er the different forms of treatment. 



Mr. Clay's experiment was commenced on the 

 16th day of July, with six barrows, each about 

 twelve months old. We shall indicate each hog 

 by the same number throughout the experiment. 



Their several weights, a* the time they were put 

 up, were as follows ., 



No. 1, 255 pounds. 



« 2, 285 " 



"3, 240 " 



" 4, ■^ 240 " 



" 5, 265 " 



'• 6, 245 " 



These were all fed for twelve days alike, on 

 cooked meal, reduced to a thin slop, so that they 

 could easily drink it; and also on dry corn at 

 the same time. At the end of twelve days they 

 were again weighed, showing the following in- 

 crease: 

 No. 1, 294 pounds. Gain 39 pounds. 

 " " 33 



•• " 50 



" 36 

 " 25 



The hsgs were then separated. Nos. 1 and 2 

 were put in a pen to themselves and fed on boil- 

 ed corn thirty days. The corn consumed was 

 390 pounds, or 6 bushels and 54 pounds, when 

 dry. Under this treatment No. 1 gained 50 

 pounds ; No. 2 gained 52 pounds. The two to- 

 gether grained 102 pounds. 



No. 3 and 4 were put together in a pen and 

 fed the same length of time on- boiled meal, re- 

 duced to thin slop. The mekl consumed, when 

 dry, weighed 270 pounds, equal to 4 bushels and 

 46 pounds. No. 3 gained 30 pounds, and No. 

 4 gained 50 pounds— both together gained 80 

 pounds. 



Nos. 5 and 6 were fed on dry corn for the same 

 period, and consumed 405 pounds, equal to 7 

 bushels and 13 pounds. No. 5 gained 10 pounds, 

 and No. 6 gained 32 pounds, or both together 

 gained 42 pounds. 



We illustrate the whole in tabular form as fol- 

 lows : 



Nos. I Bnghela consumed. | Gain in 30 days. | bs. of Pork to 1 ba. Corn. | Corn per b.i. | Cost of pofk per lb. 



1 & 2 I 6 & 54 lbs. boiled corn. 

 3 & 4 4 & 46 '' " meal. 

 5 & 6 1 7 & 13 « dry corn. 



102 pounds. 

 80 pounds. 

 42 pounds. 



14 lbs. 65-100 



16 lbs. 61-100 



5 lbs. 80-100 



2S cents. 

 28 cents. 

 28 cents. 



1 cent 9 mills. 

 1 cent 6 mills. 

 4 cents 8 mills. 



At the end of 30 days the ho^s were changed 

 as follows : Numbers five and six that had been 

 fed on dry corn were changed and fed on cooked 

 meal for 26 days, they consumed in that time 234 

 pounds of meal, or 6 bushels and 10 lbs. No. 5 

 gained 40 pounds and No. 6 gained 34 pounds — 

 the two together gained 74 pounds. 



Nos. 3 and 4 that had been fed on cooked meal 



were fed the same len2;th of time on dry corn; 

 they consumed 364 pounds, or ^ bushels; No. 

 3 gained 34 pounds, No. 4 gained 10 pounds — 

 the two together gained 44 pounds. 



Nos. 1 and 2 were continued on the boiled 

 corn with about the same results as ou the first 

 trial. The following table shows the result of 

 the second trial : 



Nog. I Bushels copsamod. | Gain in 26 days. | bs. of Pork to 1 bu. Corn. | Corn per bu. | Cost of pork per lb. 



3&4 



4 & 10 lbs. boiled meal. 

 6 & 28 lbs. dry corn. 



74 pounds. 

 44 pounds. 



17 lbs. 72-100 

 6 lbs. 77-100 



28 cents. 

 28 cents. 



1 cent 5 mills. 

 4 cents 1 mill. 



It will be seen that during the twelve days, 

 when the hogs were first put up and all fed to- 

 gether on cooked meal, that No. 5 gained twen- 

 ty-five pounds, which on the first trial after they 

 were separated and fed thirty days on dry corn, 

 consumed 202J pounds, and gained but ten 

 pounds; this, estimating the corn at 28 cents per 

 bushel, brings the meat at 10 cents and 1 mill 

 per pound, and when changed again on the sec- 

 ond trial, to boiled meal, consumed but 117 

 pounds in twenty-six "days, and gained forty 

 pounds, which at the same rate per bushel redu- 



ces the gain to one cent andybwr mills per 

 pound. 



No. 4, in the first twelve days, fed on the 

 cooked meal, made a gain of thirty-six pounds, 

 or three pounds a day ; and when separated and 

 continued thirty days on cooked meal, consumed 

 but 135 pounds, and gained j^/t!?/ pounds, which 

 brings the cost of the meat to one cent and three 

 mills per pound ; but when changed to dry corn 

 on the second trial, consumed 182 pounds in 

 twenty-six days, and gained but ten pounds, which 



