40 DEPARTMENT BULLETIN 1492, U. S. DEPT. OF AGEICULTUBE 
begun on experiment at weights between 35 and 125 pounds and 
made gains of 30 pounds or more in from 8 to 15 weeks. This sec- 
tion deals with the hardening of pigs which have become soft on 
rice polish. Experiments have been conducted with two basal, hard- 
ening feeds, namely, corn and brewers' rice. 
The pigs used in these experiments averaged about TO pounds at 
the start; those included in this summary ranged in weight from 
50 to 114 pounds. They were fed eight weeks on the rice-polish ra- 
tion and then for an additional eight weeks on the hardening ration. 
By this system, pigs of a marketable weight somewhat above 200 
pounds were usually produced. 
HARDENING RESULTS FROM CORN WITH PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS 
The results of the feeding s} 7 stems in which corn with protein and 
mineral supplements has followed a softening feed, such as peanuts 
or soy beans, have shown that the hogs became firmer as the gain on- 
the corn ration increased. It has been extremely difficult, however, 
to obtain carcasses with a good degree of firmness in any reasonable 
length of time. Since rice polish is not so softening as peanuts or 
soy beans, the difficulties in hardening pigs fed rice polish with the 
subsequent feeding of corn should be materially lessened. 
All the experiments discussed in this section were confined to the 
plan of using equal feeding periods of eight weeks each on softening 
(rice polish) and hardening (corn) feeds. The hogs in these experi- 
ments were fed by the Iberia Livestock Experiment Farm, and the 
Arkansas, the Mississippi, and the Coastal Plain stations. 
The basal softening ration was composed of rice polish, tankage, 
and minerals and the basal hardening ration of corn, tankage, and 
minerals. The rations were self -fed, free choice. Further details of 
the feeding plans follow. 
Arkansas, 1925, both periods dry lot for 56 days each. 
Arkansas, 1926, both periods dry lot for 56 days each. 
Coastal Plain, 1925, both periods dry lot for 56 days each ; fish meal used in 
place of tankage. 
Iberia, 1924, both periods on oat pasture for 56 days each. 
Iberia, 1926, both periods for 56 days each on oat pasture; additional daily 
supplement of 3.14 pounds of skim milk per animal. 
Mississippi, 1924, both periods on rye pasture for 56 days, with exception of 
one pig on softening feed 35 days and hardening feed 77 days- 
Table 21 gives the results relative to the growth and firmness of 
the carcasses of the hogs from the six experiments included in this 
section. The range of initial weights was limited to 50 to 114 pounds, 
inclusive. In certain lots this necessitated the omission of one or 
more hogs with initial weights outside this range. The lots are 
arranged in the table by grades from soft to hard and within grades 
according to refractive-index averages on back fat. The total num- 
ber of hogs was 75, the general averages of which are included in 
the table. 
