98 MAINE STATE COLLEGE 



greater production of at least 50 lbs. of dressed pork. Allowing 

 that the corn meal cost a cent a pound, the gluten meal gave 

 returns at the rate of $48 per ton, which is nearly twice its cost* 

 price. Fea meal is seen to have had an equally favorable effect 

 with another lot of somewhat mature animals. 



We must conclude that the way in which a farmer combines the 

 foods at his command is a matter of great importance, and one 

 that may determine whether some feeding operations shall result 

 in profit or in loss. 



The Relation Between the Kind of Food and the 

 Character of the Grow^th Produced. 



To what extent can we modify the composition of a hog's car- 

 cass by controlling the foods ? Can we increase or decrease at will 

 the proportion of lean meat to fat } Experiments by Professors 

 Henry and Sanborn indicate that not only does a liberal propor- 

 tion of nitrogenous food insure a more vigorous development of 

 the hog, but the carcass contains, a much larger proportion of 

 muscular tissue (lean meat). In these experiments in Missouri 

 and AVisconsin the rations differed radically, being on the one hand 

 milk, blood and bran, and on the other corn meal alone. The 

 rations fed to the pigs of Lots 1 and 2 at this Station differed in 

 the same way but not to the same extent. The two lots of animals 

 ate practically the same amount of digestible material, containing 

 294.6 pounds of digestible protein in one case and 196.3 pounds in 

 the other. This difference was continuous throughout the entire 

 life of the animals. To what extent were the carcasses of the two 

 lots of hogs unlike? These hogs were slaughtered by an 

 experienced butcher, who, with others, carefully inspected the 

 meat, as seen by making sections of the carcasses. The various 

 organs were weighed and also the intestinal fat and leaf lard. It 

 is not claimed that this was anything more than a very superficial 

 examination. Certainly the structure and composition of the 

 animals might differ considerable and the fact not to be detected 

 in this way. Such an inspection would only make evident any 

 especial differences in those qualities of the meat that are of 

 interest to the butcher and consumer. 



Unmistakable differences of this kind did not appear, however. 

 The fat portions of the carcasses were equally light colored and 

 solid. The dealer who cut up the hogs thought that possibly the 

 * The gluten meal cost the station in small lots, $25 per ton in Bangor. 



