RESULTS OF SOFT-POEK INVESTIGATIONS, II 
21 
partially reported in Department Bulletin 1407 (4). They were re- 
ported in part in that publication to show the influence of soy beans 
with a 2 to 2.5 per cent ration of shelled corn. In the two other 
tests, in which the hogs were fed by the Mississippi and Beltsville 
stations, beginning in the fall of 1924, three killings were made from 
each, after 4, 8, and 12 weeks on the hardening ration. The Mam- 
moth Yellow variety of soy beans was used in all the Mississippi 
station tests and in the North Carolina test, while at the Beltsville 
station the Virginia variety was used in all cases. The softening 
period in the different experiments varied from 6 to 8 weeks, while 
the hardening period varied from approximately 4 to 12 weeks. 
To make a clear presentation of the results the 74 hogs were 
divided into two groups according to initial weights. The initial 
weights varied from 85 to 114 pounds, inclusive, in one group, and 
from 115 to 176 pounds in the other. The lighter- weight group con- 
tained 31 hogs and the heavier-weight group 43 hogs. 
SOFTNESS OF THE CARCASSES 
The essential data from the lighter-weight group of hogs are sum- 
marized in Table 7. 
Table 7. — Average weights, gains, daps on feed, grading s, and refractive indexes 
of back and leaf fats for 31 hogs fed corn with tankage following soy beans 
supplemented with a medium ration of shelled corn 
[Initial weight of hogs on soy beans with corn, 85 to 114 pounds, inclusive] 
Initial 
weight 
Gain 
Days on feed 
Final 
weight 
Slaugh- 
ter 
weight 
Grading (aver- 
age and distri- 
bution) i 
Refractive index 
Number 
of hogs 
Soy 
beans 
with 
corn 
Corn 
with 
tank- 
age 
Soy 
beans 
with 
corn 
Corn 
with 
tank- 
age 
Back 
fat 
Leaf 
fat 
Pounds 
99.84 
Pounds 
38.84 
Pounds 
84.65 
53.29 
46.23 
Pounds 
223. 33 
Pounds 
212. 90 
(7S 
[l. 4603 
31 
ms i 1 **?------ 
1. 4598 
19 MH 
4H 
i The initial letters in this column=S, soft; MS, medium soft; MH, medium hard; H, hard. 
The average initial weight of the 31 hogs in this group was 99.84 
pounds, or very close to the standard beginning weight of 100 pounds 
which was followed in connection with a majority of the experiments. 
Calculations show that the average daily gain on the softening ration 
was 0.73 pound, and on the hardening ration 1.83 pounds. The dif- 
ference of 10.43 pounds between the final weight and slaughter 
weight was due to a shrinkage in shipping and to the hogs having 
received their last feed 24 hours prior to slaughter. The average 
total gain on the softening ration was 38.84 pounds, the variation 
being from 20 to 63 pounds. The subsequent gain on corn with 
tankage averaged 84.65 pounds, with a range' of from 26 to 171 
pounds. Although the gain was 2.18 times as much on the hardening 
as on the softening ration, the carcasses of the 31 hogs were graded 
