FEEDING SWINE 135 



South as nearer the Gulf. A common practice is to follow 

 the crop of oats with cowpeas. September is the usual 

 month of sowing. 



Rape pasture. — This plant in many respects resembles 

 the collard. In shape and color of leaf it resembles the 

 rutabaga or Swedish turnip. The leaves grow very rank 

 and succulent, and being sweet and tender they are 

 quite palatable. It is primarily a winter grower and is 

 of little value in summer. There are several varieties, 

 but the Dwarf Essex is the best for swine-grazing pur- 

 poses. The seed are usually broadcasted in September 

 at the rate of five pounds per acre, and a common method 

 is to grow the crop in connection with oats. Its value in 

 yield of pork often exceeds $25 per acre. The high feed- 

 ing value of rape is largely due to its protein content and 

 to its succulence. While the dry rape leaves have been 

 reported to contain over 20 per cent of protein, the con- 

 sumption of 100 pounds of rape on pasture yields only 

 about 2 pounds of digestible protein, about 10 of digest- 

 ible carbohydrates and less than one pound of digestible 

 fat, with a nutritive ratio about 1 : 5.2. This is a fairly 

 well-balanced feed and suggests the use of such carbo- 

 hydrate concentrates as rice by-products, corn, or chufas, 

 and the use of oats and rye pastures in conjunction 

 with it. 



Rape yields an immense quantity of forage, and the 

 Iowa Station has reported the production of over 1,400 

 pounds of pork from an acre. Rape should never be 

 grazed when wet or frozen. If it is not pastured too 

 closely it will come back several times during the winter 

 and spring. It should be allowed to attain a height of ten 



