DISPOSAL OF IRRIGATED CROPS THROUGH THE USE OP HOGS. 10 



Table VII. — Results obtained by feeding sows and their Utters on alfalfa pas- 

 ture, supplemented with a 2 per cent ration of grain, at the Scottsbluff 

 Experiment Farm in 1914 and 1915. 



Items of comparison. 



Number of sows and litters 



Average number of pigs per litter 



Average initial weight of pigs pounds. . 



Average final weight of pigs do 



Total gain per acre do 



Average daily gain for lot do 



Total grain fed do 



Grain per pound of gain do 



Gain per 100 pounds of grain do 



Financial statement: 



Net returns per acre of pasture 



Daily net returns per acre of pasture 



Cost per 100 pounds of gain (pasture at 87 per acre > . 

 Equivalent paid for hay, per ton 



1914, 



2 per cent 



corn. 



11.71 

 45.4 



1,492 

 24.9 



4,704 

 3.15 



31.7 



S54. 11 



.90 



3.83 



19.02 



1915 



Lot 6, Lot 7, 



2 per cent 2 per cent 



barley. corn. 



3.41 



29.6 

 1,672 



27.9 

 3,928 



2.35 

 42.5 



S77. 76 



1.30 



2.76 



37. 74 



7.5 

 5.53 

 38.2 



1,592 

 26.5 



4,392 

 2.76 



36.2 



Lot 8, 



2 per cent 



corn. 



7.5 

 7.90 

 36.1 



1,540 

 25.7 



3,536 

 2.28 



43.8 



§05. 52 



1.09 



3.32 



31.80 



869. 97 



1.17 



2.91 



33.96 



1914 and 



1915, 

 average 



of 4 lots. 



7.62 

 6.95 

 37.0 



1,574 

 26.2 



4,140 

 2.62 



38.2 



866.84 



1.11 



3.21 



30.63 



If the sows and pigs are charged $7 per acre for 60 days' use of 

 alfalfa pasture, $1.07 per hundredweight for corn, and $1 per hun- 

 dredweight for barley, each 100 pounds of gain cost an average of 

 $3.21. The gains on the 1914 lot cost $3.83 per hundredweight, while 

 the gains on lot 6 (barley) in 1915 cost only $2.76. 



The average yield of similar plats of alfalfa during these pasturing 

 periods was 2.85 tons in 1914 and 2.06 tons in 1915. If it is assumed 

 that the pastured plats would have yielded the same, the four lots 

 paid an average of $30.63 a ton for alfalfa hay and the hogs did the 

 harvesting themselves. Moreover, by pasturing the alfalfa it may 

 be assumed that the fertility of the soil was somewhat increased. 



HOGGING CORN. 



The experiments which have been* conducted with different methods 

 of hogging corn fall into two classes: (1) Those in which no supple- 

 ment was fed with the corn and (2) those in which the hogs were pro- 

 vided with some nitrogenous feed while they were in the cornfield. 

 Experiments in which no supplements were used have been conducted 

 for four years and the others for two years. 



CORN WITHOUT SUPPLEMENTARY FEED. 



Each. year in the irrigated crop-rotation field, a quarter-acre plat 

 of corn in a 6-year rotation is fenced and the hogs are turned into 

 it to harvest the crop. This experiment began in 1912 and has been 

 continued each year. The hogs are turned into the corn when it is 

 well " dented," usually about September 10. As no supplementary 

 feed is supplied and as the weeds and volunteer alfalfa are kept down, 

 the gains secured are made from corn alone. Each year since 1912 



