SWINE FEEDING IN COLORADO. 19 
16.75 pounds. The pigs in pen V. ate 391.25 pounds of 
sugar beets, or 3.76 pounds per day, and 416 pounds of 
grain, or 4 pounds per day, or a total of 807.25 pounds of 
food, making an average gain of 88 pounds. 
The food given to Pen 1. did little more than maintain 
the original weight of the animals, while in Pen V. one- 
third the amount of beets in addition to four pounds of 
grain per day produced substantial gains. The pigs in Pen 
II. ate 706 pounds of beet pulp, or 7 pounds per day, and 
343 pounds of grain, or 3.64 pounds per day. The total 
amount of feed consumed by each pig was 1049 pounds, a 
little more in weight than was eaten by Pen I. The total 
gain was 88 pounds, or only ten pounds less than that made 
in Pen V. on 63 pounds more grain and a little more than 
one-half the weight of beets, but the ration in Pen V. is ap¬ 
preciably greater in cost than that given in Pen II. 
Pens III. and IV. give us a comparison of the amounts 
of corn and wheat and barley consumed, with their respect¬ 
ive gains. The pigs in Pen III. ate 383.5 pounds of corn, or 
3.8 pounds per day, making average gains of 71.25 pounds. 
In Pen IV. each pig ate 546.5 pounds of grain (equal parts 
wheat and barley) or 5.25 pounds per day, making average 
gains of t 20.25 pounds. 
Wheat and barley is shown to have had a decided ad¬ 
vantage over corn in this experiment. When the chemical 
composition of corn and wheat and barley is taken into ac¬ 
count, these results are not surprising. In corn there is not 
sufficient digestible protein,—or the muscle, blood and bone¬ 
building element—in proportion to the carbohydrates—or 
fat and heat-producing element—for the most economic 
gain. This porportion of protein to carbohydrates is called 
“nutritive ratio.” For fattening hogs this nutritive ratio 
should be about 1 to 7 (one part protein to seven carbo¬ 
hydrates), to obtain the best results. In corn this ratio is 1 
to 9.7, while in equal parts wheat and barley it is 1 to 7.5. 
It is usual to feed some substance richer in nitrogen with 
corn in order to make the ration nearer the correct stand¬ 
ard. The fact that wheat and barley mixed in equal parts 
furnishes a ratio so nearly correct may account for their 
greater palatabilit>, making the pigs consume so much 
larger quantities of these grains than they would eat of corn 
alone, and as would be expected, they made greater gains. 
cost' AND PROFIT. 
The true measure of the efficiency of a food ration for 
fattening stock is the value of the resulting product after 
