﻿DRY-LAND PASTURE CROPS FOR HOGS. 9 



than the row plat and was harvested -at the same time as the alfalfa 

 plats. This brome-grass plat yielded 1,880 pounds of good quality 

 hay. The row plat of brome-grass, though much of the forage grew 

 tall and was not eaten, seemed to furnish a greater quantity of 

 acceptable grazing around the crowns of the plants, and the hogs 

 confined themselves to this plat almost exclusively after the first 

 two weeks of the season. 



The gain of the fall pigs on alfalfa amounted to 232 pounds, or 

 0.83 of a pound per pig per day. The brome-grass pigs gained 190 

 pounds for the same period, or 0.68 of a pound per pig per day. The 

 alfalfa pigs made their increase at the rate of 2.78 pounds of corn per 

 pound of gain, while the brome-grass pigs required 3.2 pounds of 

 corn for each pound of gain. 



The comparison seemed to favor the alfalfa pasture, though 

 actually most of the brome-grass grazing was done on the 1 acre of 

 brome-grass in rows. 



The check plat of alfalfa seeded broadcast was cut on June 29 and 

 yielded 1,850 pounds of hay per acre, while the broadcast plat of 

 brome-grass returned 2,560 pounds of hay per acre. No check plats 

 of these crops in rows were available. 



After removing the fall pigs from the pastures on July 11 the plats 

 were restocked with spring pigs. Ten pigs were placed on each of the 

 crops. The total hog weight for the 2 acres of alfalfa was 356 pounds 

 -and for the 2 acres of brome-grass 357 pounds. 



As but little growth was made on the broadcast alfalfa plat after 

 it was mowed, the spring pigs confined themselves to the row plat 

 entirely. The dry season enabled the animals to- keep the new 

 growth grazed off fairly close over the whole acre, but the tendency 

 to continually pasture certain areas was the same as that experienced 

 with the rye pasture. On August 8 one pig was removed from the 

 experiment because of sickness, and from that time until the experi- 

 ment closed on September 28 nine pigs were used. During the 79-day 

 period a total of 249 pounds of gain was made. This averaged about 

 0.34 of a pound per day for each animal. The corn consumed was 

 767 pounds, or 3.09 pounds of corn for each pound of gain. For 

 the greatest and most economical gains the pasture season should 

 have closed about three weeks earlier. 



As was the case with the alfalfa, the row plat of brome-grass was 

 pastured by the spring pigs in preference to the broadcast plat. 



The row plat of brome-grass was mowed on July 24 and yielded 

 944 pounds of coarse hay. The subsequent new growth was pastured 

 close by the 10 pigs for a period of 25 days, when they were removed. 

 A gain of 32 pounds was made, or an average daily gain of 0.13 of a 

 pound per pig. Shelled corn weighing 231 pounds was fed during 

 this time, or a ratio of 7.22 pounds of corn for each pound of gain. 

 A greater income from the pasture would have been secured if the 

 hogs had been removed a week earlier. 



The season's observations on alfalfa and brome-grass as hog pas- 

 tures indicated that both crops were very palatable. It seems reason- 

 able to suppose that placing a larger number of pigs on these crops 

 early in the season would bring more profitable returns than the sum- 

 mer pasturing and also leave the pastures themselves in better shape. 



The row plats of each crop furnished a more continuous growth of 

 palatable forage than the broadcast plats. 

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