CHAPTER VII. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

 Cooking Food for Swine. 

 A great many experiments have been conducted with 

 cooked food for swine at various experiment stations. The 

 results of tests from different stations show many contradic- 

 tory results ; sometimes the cooked food scoring an advan- 

 tage, but oftener the uncooked food taking the lead. So far 

 as can be made out from the results, it would seem that 

 cooking meal does not increase its digestibility and feeding 

 value, and the weight of evidence is in favor of the theory 

 that cooking tends to decrease the digestibility of meal. 

 Potatoes, however, appear to be improved by cooking. 

 Turnips are rendered more palatable by cooking, but it is 

 doubtful whether their feeding value is increased thereby. 

 If it is desired to feed a large quantity of turnips, no doubt 

 cooking is an advantage. In the case of sugar beets and 

 mangels, which the hogs eat readily in the raw state, it is 

 very doubtful whether cooking pays. On the whole, there- 

 fore, cooking apparently tends to make foods more palatable, 

 but its effect upon digestibility appears to be injurious rather 

 than beneficial, with the exception of potatoes. The feeder, 

 therefore, will have to be governed by circumstances in 

 deciding whether it will be advisable for him to cook the 

 food or not. 



Soaked, Wet and Dry Meal. 



So far as can be gleaned from experiments to date, soak- 

 ing meal for several hours before feeding appears to be 

 beneficial. It is doubtful, however, whether wetting the 

 food just before feeding has very much influence. One of 



