100 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



<■! OKING FOOD FOR HOGS. 



Exp ment of Samuel II. Clay, of Bourbon 

 County, Kentucky. 



The advantages of cooking food for hogs 

 and other farm animals, have never yet 

 been duly appreciated by American far- 

 mers ; although numerous experiments 

 have been made (usually upon a small 

 scale, it is true) that have gone far to de- 

 monsirate its importance. 



In the October No. of the Valley Far- 

 mer, we published an article on this sub- 

 ject, in which we gave the result of the 

 valuable and interesting investigations of 

 Dutrochet, Dumas and Raspail, going to 

 show the mysterious and beautiful opera- 

 tions of nature in the formation of the va- 

 rious grains and roots which enter into the 

 food of man and bea^t, and of the neces- 

 sity of their being submitted to a certain 

 degree of heat before their entire constitu- 

 ents could be reduced to that condition 

 most available for digestion and assimila- 

 tion. In that article we alluded to an ex- 

 periment in feeding hogs, then in progress 

 by Samuel H. Clay, Esq., of Bourbon Co. 

 Ky., and promised to give our readers the 

 result as soon as the facts could be ascer- 

 tained. Mr. Clay has since very kindly 

 furnished us with a statement in full of 

 the number and weight of the hogs\ the 

 quantity of grain they consumed, the form 

 in which it was fed to them, and the gain 

 of each animal under the different forms 

 of treatment. 



Mr. Clay's experiment was commenced 

 on the Ib'th day of July, with six barrows, 

 each about twelve months old. We shall 

 indicate each hog by the same number 



throughout the experiment. Their several 

 weights, at the time they were put up, 



were as follows : 



No. 1, 255 pounds. No. 4, 240 pounds. 

 No. 2, 285 " No. 5, 205 



No. 3, 240 " No. ft, 245 



These were all fed for twelve days alike, 

 on cooked meal, reduced to a thin slop, so 

 that they could easily drvnk it; and also 

 on dry corn at the same time. At the end 

 of twelve days they were again weighed, 

 showing the following increase : 



No. 1, 294 pounds. Gain, 39 pounds. 

 " 2, 318 " " 33 



" 3, 290 " " 50 



4, 270 « " 36 



" 5,290 "' " 25 ,(t%S/| ; <ft 



0, 282 



" 25 

 " 37 



The hogs were then separated. Nos. 1 

 i and 2 were put in a pen to themselves, 

 I and fed on boiled corn thirty days. The 

 : corn consumed was 390 pounds, or 6 bush- 

 els and 54 pounds, when dry. Under this 

 ! treatment No. 1 gained 50 lbs.; No. 2 

 [gained 52 pounds. The two. together gain- 

 ' ed 102 pounds. 



I Nos. 3 and 4 were put together in a pen 

 'and fed the same length of time on boiled 

 | meal, reduced to thin slop. The meal con- 

 sumed, when dry, weighed 270 pounds, 



equal to 4 bushels and 46 pounds. No. 3 

 'gained 30 pounds, and No. 4 gained 50 



pounds — both together gained 80 pounds. 

 Nos. 5 and 6 were fed on dry corn for 



the same period, and consumed 405 lbs., 

 | equal to 7 bushels and 13 pounds. No. 5 

 I gained 10 pounds, and No. 6 gained 32 



pounds, or both together gained 42 lbs. 



We illustrate the whole in tabular form 

 I as follows : 



Nos. ! Bushels consumed. 



n . . OA , iLfos. ol Pork to 

 bain m 30 days. -, n 



J 1 1 bu. Corn. 



Corn 

 per bushel. 



Cost of Rork per 

 pound. 



1 & LiO and 54 lbs. boiled corn. 

 3 & 4 4 and 40 lbs. " meal. 

 5 & 6j7 and 13 lbs. dry corn. 



102 pounds. 14 Lbs. 05-100. 

 80 pounds. 16 lbs. 01-100. 

 42 pounds. ! 5 lbs. 80-100. 



23 cents. 



do 

 do 



1 cent 9 mills 

 1 cent " 

 4 cents 8 " 



At the end of 30 days the hogs were 

 changed and fed as follows : — Nos. 5 and 

 6 that had been fed on dry corn, were 

 changed and fed on cooked meal for 26 

 days; they consumed in that time 234 

 pounds of meal, or 6 bushels and 10 lbs. 

 No. 5 gained 40 pounds, and No. 6 gained 

 34 pounds — the two together gained 74 

 pounds. 



Number 3 and 4, that had been fed on 



cooked meal, were fed the same length of 

 time on dry corn ; they consumed 364 

 pounds, or 6| bushels. No. 3 gained 34 

 pounds, No. 4 gained 10 pounds — the two 

 together gained 44 pounds. 



Nos. 1 and 2 were continued on the 

 boiled corn with about the same results as 

 on the first trial. The following table 

 shows the results of the second trial: 



