372 



FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



centrates per 100 lbs. of gain, which was slightly less than the pigs 

 on alfalfa required. Rape is surpassed by alfalfa where the latter 

 thrives, not because alfalfa makes larger gains, but because it will usu- 

 ally carry more pigs per acre and need not be reseeded each year. 

 Evvard of the Iowa Station 15 found that the portion of the rape plant 

 eaten by pigs is nearly as rich in protein, on the dry matter basis, as is 



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Fig. 105. — Rape Is One of the Best Annual Crops for Pigs 



Over most of the northern states, rape is the best annual forage crop for pigs, 

 furnishing excellent pasture from early summer till late in the fall. (From Wis- 

 consin Station.) 



alfalfa, and that pigs fed corn on rape pasture do not need the addi- 

 tion of more than 5 per ct. of tankage, or an equivalent of other sup- 

 plement, to the corn allowance. 



Other pasture crops. — Field peas, sown either alone or with oats 

 or oats and rape, are a most satisfactory summer forage crop for pigs 

 in the northern states. As has already been mentioned in this chap- 

 ter, large numbers of pigs are fattened on field peas in certain moun- 

 tain valleys of the "West. 



Soybean pasture in the North is surpassed by alfalfa, clover, rape, 

 and field peas, except perhaps on light, sandy soil, where the soybean 

 may produce a larger crop. In the South, however, the soybean is 

 one of the best allies of the pork producer. In three trials at the 

 Alabama Station 16 the feed cost of 100 lbs. gain by pigs fed corn 



ib Iowa Bui. 136. 



18 Gray, Ridgeway, and Eudaly, Ala. Bui. 154. 



