Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1882-11-15
Shall We Cook Feed for Hogs.

Shall We Cook Feed for Hogs.
answer the above question in the neg
tive, aud propose TO give my reasons for
10y opinion. In my younger days became
very enthusiastic on the subject of cooking
food for Logs. | read many statements
setting forth the great advantage of it, and
showing how much greater gain would
result from cooked than from raw food
and made up my mind that the value of
he food would be increased at least one
fourth 10y the process. invested at var
ious times during period of 20 years in
different apparatus for cooking. | first
tried iron kettles, but this processrequired
too much fuel and labor 1t required
almost constant attention for at least
Il quarter of day to finish mp batch. and
with the firing up, stirring snd dipping,
there was large amount of disagreeable,
dirty work. next tried pan with sheet
IRON bottom and wooden sides, similar to
&c pans often used for svapOrating sorgo.
! placed is on a rough stone furnace which
I made myself, and the cost was but So
besides my own labor for d iy or two
| found this saved half tbs time and
fuel, as it would heat up very quickly, but
there were disadvantages. First, it was
not portable, and there was still the labor
Of dipping and carrying; then, as soon as
the mush was made, it would settle and
burn unless stirred constantly or the fire
was at once put out, and finally, the appa-
ratus was not very durable, aud in a sin
Gle season became rickety and WIS asan.
donod. | then got steam boiler With
rubber hose, through which the steam
passed directly and cooked the feed in the
barrel, but | found it took long while
and good deal of work to bring II barrel
of water to the boiling point. | mex
Investigated in what is called an agricul
tural boiler, being GO gallon kettle,
which, with stove attachment cost me,
ut wholesale price. $32. found that in
c1ld, windy weather-and this was when
needed warm slops most-it would take
mt least two hours, with the best of wood
to bring the water to the boiling point
and | soon gave it up.
1t was several years before tried cook
ing feed again, but still had faith in it,
and when an agent came along with the
"Smith Cooker" "a double sheet iron
cylinder foot in diameter with double
sides. and which was put right into the
barrel with the water all around it and
the fire built inside, and with it it was
claimed that % gallons of water could be
heated to the boiling point in haitian hour
and that the cobs from Il bushel of corn
would furnish fuel to cook N, exclaimed
Eureka" and once more invested. The
cooker did all that was claimed for it, but
it was not long till through the careless
ue.s of work hand" it was taken out of
lie water win the Ere in II AID spoiled
About this Time l FIRST began to seriously
doubt that it was profitable to cook feed
for hogs, and l began TO look about for
The experience of others, The result was
that while almost every farmer had at
seme time cooked food l could not find
one that had followed it up. l then wrote
au article for an agricultural paper of
wide circulation calling attention to this
fact, and asking those who had found
cooking food SO profitable that they fol
lowed it regularly, to let us hear from
hem; but failed to geta single response.
still believed, however, that cooked feed
vas better than raw, and that the failure
was on account of the trouble and eXpers,.
| have recently learned of = series Of
careful experiments which 60 to show
Lhlt cooked food is actually worth less for
upL5 than raw. l have sent the figures to
friend and cannot give them exactly,
b.. will, if desired, at some future time,
bu. | remember them nearly enough for
all practical purposes. The experiments
were conducted by the Maine state college
aad extended over period of nine years
All these experiments were conducted in
warm weather, and each one extended
he Tho hnnc
carefully selected and were weighed
oyery week. The different lot of hog,
were fed exactly the same amount of corn
meal. In not 4 single instance did those
fed on cooked meal gain as mnch as those
ON raw, and summing up for the niue
years shows that those fed on cooked m aal
gained So pounds to 100 pounds for the
others. This result WAS to ne surprising,
for ! had always supposed cooked food
more valuable, but we must remember
that these experiments were carefully
conducted by scientific men, and through
"a period long enough to make them valu
able and convincing, while the farmer
who cooks feed for hogs generally adds OF
il the skim milk, apple and potato pairing
and the waste from the table, and then
gUesses at the results.
To my mind these experiments are
decisive. am in favor of ground feed for
Young pigs and nursing sows, and want to
feed slop slightly warm in cold weather,
and think that moderate fermentation is
good, and believe that by packing the
swil barrel in sawdust and adding occa
sunally Il tea-kettle of boiling water, we
can make as good food as by cooking. In
order to get the right degree of fermenta.
ton two barrels re needed, in he sum
mer 10 keep the swill from becoming too
sour, and in the winter to make it soul
enough. Now if any readers Of the Rora
have made success of cooking feed fol
hogs hope we shall hear from them
wish TO get ut the truth and nothing
Else in The matter Waldo F. BroWn.