4 BULLETIN 752, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
irrigation farmers are also included. The locations where the infor- 
mation was obtained are shown in figure 1. | 
Many questions in this connection still need investigation, and ex- 
periments for this purpose are now in progress. This bulletin is 
issued as a contribution to the knowledge of the subject, in the belief 
that it will be helpful to practical swine growers and to the various 
agencies engaged in stimulating swine production on irrigated lands. 
CHARACTER AND USE OF EXPERIMENTAL DATA. 
In this bulletin, no attempt has been made to present the data on a 
monetary basis. Cash values of crop products and of hogs are chang- 
ing constantly, so that in any event it is necessary to recalculate a — 
financial statement of the results of a feeding operation to make it fit 
an individual case. In ‘the present instance, the results have been 
measured and expressed in terms of pork production. In each test, 
the quantities of feed consumed and the area of land pastured have 
been set over against the gains made by the hogs during the period 
involved. 
The tests reported cover a wide diversity of conditions with refer- 
ence to number and size of animals used, area of land and quantity 
of supplementary feeds involved, and duration of the feeding period. 
These conditions are set forth in the tables and text. By consulting 
these, the reader can study the results of the tests in terms of area 
of land, quantity of supplementary feeds, total gains and rate of gain, 
and in many instances carrying capacity per unit area of land. With 
information on these points it is possible to apply the results reported 
to a variety of conditions on irrigated lands. 
PASTURING ALFALFA. 
In alfalfa, the irrigation farmer has an unexcelled forage crop for 
swine. This crop is grown more extensively than any other forage 
on the irrigated lands, and it yields abundantly. Its rapid growth, 
its palatability, and its high feeding value fit the crop admirably for 
hog pasture. There is, perhaps, no more économical method of grow- 
ing pigs than to pasture them on alfalfa, if the latter is supplemented 
with the proper carbonaceous feeds. It is probable that, on the irri- 
gated lands, with their abundance of alfalfa pasture, stocker hogs 
can be produced more cheaply than in any other swine-producing sec- 
tion of the country. Alfalfa pasture should be regarded as a basis 
for most of the operations of swine production on irrigated lands. 
The results that can be secured with swine on alfalfa pasture de- 
pend chiefly upon the character of the animals, the stand and growth 
of the crop, the method of management, and the character and quan- 
tity of the supplementary feeds used. The stand and growth of the 
