IRRIGATED FIELD CROPS FOR HOG PASTURING. 
11 
the average carrying capacity from 1,434 to 2,720 pounds per acre, 
and the grain fed per 100 pounds of gain from 200 to 292 pounds. 
Table VI. — Results secured with 10 lots of pigs on irrigated alfalfa pasture 
supplemented with a 2 per cent ration of corn on the Belle Fourahe Experi- 
ment Farm in 1914, 1915, and 1916. 
Time. 
Num- 
ber 
of 
pigs. 
Average 
initial 
weight. 
Time 
of 
test. 
Gain (pounds). 
Average 
carrying 
capacity 
per acre. 
Grain 
Pigs. 
Total 
per 
acre. 
Per 
acre 
per 
day. 
Ter 
Pig 
per 
day. 
fed 
per 100 
pounds 
of gain. 
Lot 1 
5 
Pounds. 
88 
Days. 
121 
1,830 
15 
0.75 
Pounds. 
2,720 
Pounds. 
278 
Spring 1915 
Lot 2 
4 
7 
125 
36 
61 
71 
938 
1,088 
15 
15 
.93 
.53 
2,046 
1,434 
275 
Lot 3 
203 
132 
2,026 
15 
236 
Spring, 1915 
Lot 4 
4 
7 
119 
38 
61 
71 
1,064 
1,044 
17 
15 
1.06 
.54 
2,300 
• 1, 452 
254 
Lot 5 
214 
132 
9. 108 
16 
234 
Spring, 1916 
Lot G 
4 
9 
102 
60 
55 
70 
688 
1,274 
12 
18 
.75 
.50 
2, 03, S 
2,348 
270 
Lot 7 
Summer, 1916 
268 
All season, 1916 
125 
1,962 
16 
269 
Spring, 1916 
T.ot 8 
4 
8 
103 
61 
55 
70 
658 
1,348 
12 
19 
.75 
.60 
2, 058 
2,274 
292 
Lot 9 
Summer, 1916 
238 
All season, 1916 
Lots 8 and 9 . . . 
125 
2,006 
16 
256 
Fall, 1915 
Lot 10 
7 
48 
36 
566 
16 
.60 
1,630 
200 
Tests made in cooperation with farmers. 1 — The results secured in 
10 cooperative tests in which pigs were pastured on alfalfa supple- 
mented with corn are presented in Table VII. In these tests no at- 
tempt was made to adjust the number of hogs to the area of alfalfa 
so as to secure the maximum carrying capacity. The general prac- 
tice was to allow the pigs to graze at will in alfalfa fields which 
were also used for hay production, so that the data secured show 
chiefly the daily gains and the grain consumed per hundredweight 
of gain. In these tests, furthermore, somewhat higher corn rations 
were used than in the tests at the experiment farms. 
The 10 lots considered in Table VII contained a total of 596 pigs. 
The average initial weight of these 10 lots ranged from 23 to 175 
pounds per head; the pasturing periods varied from 19 to 118 days; 
the corn rations fed ranged from 1.30 to 6.95 per cent, and the char- 
acter of the alfalfa fields pastured also varied. The conditions which 
always influence the grain requirement were, therefore, very diverse. 
1 In the tests made in cooperation with farmers and discussed in this bulletin, the 
weights of the hogs were secured through the use of a special portable weighing outfit 
illustrated in fig. 3. The use of this simple outfit greatly facilitated the proper con- 
duct of the tests and by giving exact information regarding the gains made by the hogs 
materially increased the interest of swine growers in the work. 
