54 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



given to the flatting pigs; I do not think it necessary nor profit- 

 able. 



I need scarcely say that it is necessary to cook all potatoes 

 given to pigs. 



The most profitable breed of pig to keep is undoubtedly that 

 breed which will produce, from a given quantity of food, the 

 greatest weight of pork which will realize the highest price. 



THE VALUE OF DAIRY "OFFAL." 



I feel sure that I make it as an acknowledged fact that skim 

 milk, buttermilk and whey are of considerable value in the 

 rearing and fatting of pigs, and also that there is a great divers- 

 ity oi opinion as to their value for that purpose. I have the 

 records of numbers of experiments which have been made in 

 America and Germany for the purpose of arriving at their feed- 

 ing value, but unfortunately in most cases the pigs have either 

 been fed solely on the skim milk, or, if with other foods, suffi- 

 cient care has not been taken, so that the milk or whey were 

 credited only with the gain due to their addition to the meal or 

 other food, the plan adopted being to deduct the cost of the 

 meal, attendance, &c, and to credit the dairy offal with the 

 profit. It will be generally admitted that skim milk, buttermilk, 

 and whey are not alone a complete or profitable food for pigs, 

 but that when added to meal or potatoes a much greater in- 

 crease in growth and in meat is obtained than if the pigs were 

 fed simply on the meal and potatoes, or on the skim milk. 



If I were to give these experiments in detail it would only 

 add to the length of a paper already too long. I will therefore 

 merely state that, after having carefully studied these experi- 

 ments, I have failed to obtain much information as to the value 

 of dairy offal for pig-feeding. The results arrived at are so 

 diverse. Take, for instance, the use of skim milk: one experi- 

 menter gives figures which, to his mind, conclusively prove 

 that skim milk is not worth more than J^d. per gallon, whilst 

 another equally conscientious person will assert that the results 



