PASTURE AND SOILING CROPS 197 



a bushel of corn fed to hogs on forage was 80 cents, after a 

 $10.00 charge (per acre) had been paid for rent, taxes, etc." 



Fall Rye. — Rye does not make so vahiable a pasture as 

 many other crops, and its main feature is its early growth. 

 For supplying pasture very early in the spring, a small plot of 

 rye can often be used to good advantage. (Also see under " Pork 

 Production in the South," Chapter XXVII.) 



Sorghum. — Owing to its large yield and sureness of crop, 

 sorghum is quite popular in the South as a feed for swine. At 

 the Alabama Station (Bulletin 143), sorghum was used as a past- 

 ure and soiling crop for hogs weighing 73 pounds each at the 

 commencement of the test. The following statements are quoted 

 from the bulletin: 



A ration of corn and sorghum alone is a very poor feed for either 

 fattening hogs or for producing growth, neither feed furnishing enough 

 protein or ash for hogs which are not completely matured. The sorghum 

 might have made a better showing if the pigs used had been matured 

 animals before the fattening period began. 



Under the conditions in which sorghum was fed in these experiments, 

 it was found to be almost worthless as a supplement to either corn, or to 

 a mixed ration of corn and cottonseed meal. 



Sorghum has probably one valuable place as a hog feed — to help carry 

 the brood sows through the summer months economically when the pastures 

 become short. 



The sorghum was not fed until the juice began to sweeten ; 

 or until some of the heads began to turn black. The bulletin 

 states that some farmers report success in pasturing hogs on 

 sorghum when the plants are about one foot in height. 



The Arkansas Station reports favorably upon the use of sor- 

 ghum for pigs, and recommends red clover or alfalfa for early 

 pasture, followed by sorghum fed to pigs in pens, and the sor- 

 ghum followed by peanut pasture. The pigs should be finished 

 for market on a grain ration. 



Covsr-peas. — The cow-pea flourishes in the South, where it 

 gives exceptionally good results as a hog pasture. (Pig. 45.) 

 It is frequently sown among corn with the last cultivation, and 



