DISPOSAL OF IRRIGATED CROPS THROUGH THE USE OF HOGS. 7 



On an acre basis, the four lots made an average total gain of 1,271 

 pounds during the first period and 1,910 pounds during the second 

 period, or a total of 3,181 pounds for the season. During the first 

 period the hogs were fed 3,671 pounds of corn and during the second 

 period 4,173 pounds, or a total of 7,844 pounds during the season. 

 It required 2.88 pounds of corn in the first period and 2.18 pounds 

 in the second period, in addition to the alfalfa pasture, to produce 

 1 pound of gain. For every 100 pounds of corn fed the hogs made 

 a gain of 34.7 pounds during the first period and 45.9 pounds in the 

 second period, or an average of 40.5 pounds during the season. 



With hogs at $7 per hundredweight and corn at $1.07 per hundred- 

 weight the net return per acre of alfalfa pasture was $49.70 for the 

 first period and $89.05 for the second period, or a total of $138.75 

 for the season. This is equal to a daily net return of 90 cents an 

 acre for the entire period of 154 days. If a charge of $5 for the first 

 period and $10 for the second period is made for an acre of alfalfa 

 pasture, the feed required to produce 100 pounds of gain cost $3.36 

 during the first period, $2.86 during the second period, and $3.11 

 for the season. 



Alfalfa plats similar to those pastured and in the same field have 

 each year been harvested for hay. The three-year average yield of 

 these plats was 5.52 tons per acre, or 2.24 tons for the first period 

 and 3.28 tons for the second period of pasturing. On the basis of 

 this yield, if it is assumed that the cost of caring for the hogs is 

 equal to the cost of harvesting the hay, the hogs in the first period 

 paid $22.19 and in the second period $27.13, or an average for the 

 season of $25.13 a ton for alfalfa hay. 



ALFALFA PASTURE WITH VARIOUS GRAIN SUPPLEMENTS. 



EXPERIMENTS IN 1914. 



In 1914 experiments were inaugurated to secure information re- 

 garding (1) the most economical quantity of corn to feed to hogs on 

 alfalfa pasture, (2) the relative efficiency of 2 per cent corn and 2 

 per cent ground-barley rations as supplements to alfalfa pasture, and 

 (3) the carrying capacity of alfalfa pasture when no supplement is 

 fed. 



The alfalfa pastured in these experiments was seeded on April 6, 

 1912, hay having been harvested from the plats during the seasons 

 of 1912 and 1913. The yields of the different plats during these 

 years were very uniform. Figure 2 gives a view of the alfalfa 

 pasture used in this experiment. The hogs used during the first 

 period were a very inferior lot. They were a mixture of several 

 breeds, ranging from high-grade Berkshires to scrubs and varying 

 in size from 50 to 160 pounds. 



