416 Western Live-stock Management 
over the fire long enough so that they have a mealy appear- 
ance when they are opened, they make better feed than 
if left in the water in which they were cooked and have 
the meal mixed with them. 
GRINDING 
Grinding feed is a profitable practice at the prevailing 
prices of grain. The saving is about 6 per cent with corn, 
from 12 to 20 per cent with barley, oats, and wheat, and 
even a higher percentage with hog millet and weed seed. 
Grinding, if performed at all, should be thoroughly done 
and the meal made fine. In addition to the actual saving 
of feed required to produce 100 pounds of gain, grinding 
feed will usually secure a better finish and consequently 
is sometimes practiced only at the close of the fattening 
period. The desired finish is thus secured without the 
larger expense involved in grinding the feed for the entire 
period. Likewise, younger pigs chew their feed better 
than older ones, therefore older pigs are more likely to pay 
a profit on grinding than are younger ones. 
SOAKING 
Soaking feeds which are so excessively hard that they 
are not likely to be well chewed unless so treated, may be 
of some advantage. It is very probable, however, that 
some sugar may be dissolved out and possibly become 
fermented if the weather is at all warm. Soaking may 
take the place of grinding if the cost of grinding is ex- 
cessive. With ground grain, no advantage due to soaking 
is noticed, although merely wetting before feeding is a 
good practice, in that it prevents the finer parts from 
being blown away, or from being inhaled by the pigs. 
