Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1854-08-25
P. n. RICHARDS,
A. d. HUBBARD,
A. l.. CLARK,
J. NJ. SMITH.

day of February last, l selected four pigs from
q pen of seven, which had been kept together
and fed upon the same kind of food, nurtured
with the same care until that day. For seven
or eight weeks previous they had been fed with
pudding made from meal and warm water,
and given as soon as made. The meal was
from corn one half, broomseed one fourth,
oats one fourth, well mixed before it was
ground.
The same kind of meal was given cooked
and uncooked, to the four pigs selected for
the purpose of proving to my own mind if it
would pay to cook food for swine.
Two of the pigs selected were the best of
the seven, well formed, quiet, and disposed to
do well. Two were the smallest but thrifty,
doing tolerably well. They were some two
months younger than such as are generally
fatted for the spring market.
I put them into two pens, one of the best
and one Of the small ones in each pen. The
pigs i'll pen No. l, weighed l42 and 2l2.-
These l kept on raw food, prepared as stated
above, for three weeks, when they weighed
l65 and 245, being gain of SO lbs. They
ate IA bushels of meal. Pigs in pen No. 2
weighed 1877 and 204 fed them on cooked
food for three weeks, when they weighed 1877
and 1873, being loss of lbs. They ate 3
bushels of meal.
The meal is cooked in boiling water, as
hasty pudding is made. 1t increases about
three times in cooking, or in other words, one
quart Of meal cooked would make as much
pudding as three uncooked.
The food was continued till March 8, Zone
week. when the pigs in pen No. l weighed
III and 266, being gain of 80 lbs. They
ate IA bushels of meal. You will observe
that one pig gained lbs. each day. Pigs in
pen No. weighed 100 and 200, being loss
of lbs. One bushel of meal had been cook
ed tor them.
1 now changed their feed, giving cooked
| food to pen No. l, and uncooked to No. q
! At the end of 2 weeks, March %, the pigs in
| No. l weighed l72 and 272, being gain of
pound. They ate Ia bushels Of meal, the
same quantity that they ate the last week that
fed them raw food, and on which they gain
ed 80 lbs Pigs in pen No. weighed 1879 and
| 227, being gain of 80 lbs. They ate Ia
bushels of meal
The same feed was continued till March 49,,
when pigs in No. l weighed 1913 and I'll, be-
ing loss of lbs. They ate l 4 bushels of
meal. Pigs in pen No. 2 weighed 100 and
24I, gained % lbs. They ate 2 bushels of
meal.
From Feb to March s, being weeks, 1
fed IA bushels of meal, uncooked, to pigs
in pen No. l, and upon it they gained 80 lbs.
/ fed them 1-2 bushels of meal, cooked, in
three weeks, and they lost four pounds. fed
| pigs in pen No. 2, bushels of meal, cooked,
i'll four weeks, and they lost II pounds. l
fed them Is bushels of raw meal in three
weeks, and they gained 81 pounds. cooked
| 10 bushels of meal during the weeks,
which was eaten by the pigs and they lost
10 pounds. fed Is IS bushels of meal I'M
cooked to the same pigs, during the same
weeks, and they gained l43 pounds. I fed
them all they wanted by my own hand, dur
ing the whole time. The pigs eating the
cooked food would eat more bulk of pud-
ding than those eating the uncooked, but ow-
ing to its increase in cooking, but little more
than one half as much value of meal.
You will see that my profit in fattening
pork this season has been in experience rather
than in California dust.
ALBERT MONTAGUE.