Corn Substitutes for Growing Pigs 323 



represent the average results of eight experiments in 

 which rations of concentrates alone were compared with 

 the same rations with roots added. 



On the average, the 631 pounds of roots fed for each 

 100 pounds of gain saved 141 pounds of concentrates. 

 This would give 447 pounds of roots the value of 100 

 pounds of concentrates. The roots fed did not contain 

 an average of more than 15 per cent of dry matter, while 

 the concentrates had about 90 per cent. In these experi- 

 ments, then, 100 pounds of dry matter in roots had the 

 value, approximately, of 134 pounds of dry matter in the 

 form of concentrates. 



Sweet potatoes. 



In the South, sweet potatoes furnish a heavy yield of 

 fairly palatable feed suitable for finishing pigs for market. 

 The general practice is to allow the pigs to forage them 

 during the fall and early winter. In order to secure 

 satisfactory results, the pigs should receive in addition 

 a fair allowance of grain. Since sweet potatoes contain 

 extremely meager quantities of protein, best results 

 are secured when the tubers are properly supplemented 

 by the addition of a nitrogenous supplement. 



Earle and Orr^ of the Alabama Station conducted a 

 short experiment in which the sweet potatoes were har- 

 vested by hand and fed to pigs confined to the dry lot. 

 One group of pigs was fed corn and the other sweet 

 potatoes with the results shown in Table CLVI. 



The sweet potatoes, hand-fed, did not give satisfac- 

 tory results in this test, but the number of pigs in each 

 lot was such that the results cannot be considered con- 

 clusive. The authors of the experiment concluded that 



1 BuU. 93. 



