MAIZE GRAIN AS FOOD 727 



tions," he adds, "the feeder is in a position to wisely use this CHAP, 

 great cereal. For breeding-stock, maize should constitute not XIV - 

 over half the ration at any time, the amount being smallest 

 with young animals. As the body increases in size and nears 

 maturity, the demand for protein and ash becomes less, and the 

 proportion of maize to other grain can be gradually increased 

 until, during the fattening stage, the ration may, if desired, 

 consist almost wholly of this grain." 



There can be no doubt that many valuable sows have been 

 utterly ruined for breeding purposes by over-ked'mg on maize 

 and meal alone. ... On this account sows should not be 

 allowed to run with fattening hogs kept on maize, but in pas- 

 ture, and allowed plenty of sop made of equal parts of shorts, 

 maize meal, and wheat bran (Coburn, 3). 



Henry (1) summarizes the investigations of the several 

 American Experiment Stations with regard to pig feeding, and 

 finds that pigs weighing less than 50 lbs. each, averaging 38 lbs., 

 consume on the average 2-23 lbs. of grain or grain equivalent 

 daily. As the animal increased in weight there was a gradual 

 increase in the amount of food consumed, until the 450 lbs. pig 

 was eating 10 lbs. of grain daily, or more than four times as 

 much as the 50 lbs. pig. 



He finds that when pigs have maize as their exclusive 

 ration, they acquire a strong craving for wood ashes, consider- 

 able quantities of which are consumed if opportunity offers. 

 He experimented to determine whether the ashes were of any 

 benefit to the pigs or not. " As the trials progressed, it became 

 evident that none of the pigs were properly nurtured, though 

 the difference in favour of those getting bonemeal or ashes was 

 very marked. The pigs which were allowed neither ashes nor 

 bonemeal were most plainly dwarfed. It was evident that the 

 maize meal, salt, and water did not supply all the elements 

 essential to building a normal framework of bone and muscle. 

 These dwarfs became so fat that the jowls and bellies of some 

 of them nearly touched the ground. 



" The pigs getting ashes or bonemeal grew very well for 

 some time, but toward the close of the trial they made only 

 fair gains, showing that the nutrients supplied were still too 

 limited in character to allow normal development. . . . Feed- 

 ing bonemeal or hardwood ashes to pigs otherwise confined to 



