St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-05-05
FOODS FOR HOGS.
An Eminently Successful Farmer Relates
His Experience.

An Eminently Successful Farmer Relates
His Experience.
will give my experience in feeding
hogs, in the fall of 1887, which may be
of some profit to some one. A great
many people scout the plan of feeding
pumpkins to hogs. Having had four
years of close observation in this line
can simply say that crop of pump
kins grown for hog-feeding will pay
100 per cent. profit. ANY farmer can
take two punches of hogs and feed
them the same quantity of corn fall
they will eat). To one bunch, besides
the corn, let him give pumpkins where
they can have free access to them all
the time. At the end of a month he
will find that the hogs which have had
the pumpkins have gained third more
IN weight than those that had none.
Besides this increase in weight the hogs
that have had the pumpkins have not
eaten as much corn and are in better
condition. There is something singu-
lar about it. After the corn and pump
kins have passed through the hogs
once they will turn round and eat
their own excrement. The second
time passing through seems to do more
good than it did at first
After the pumpkins were fed out I
had a good many corn cobs lying
around; these l raked up in conven-
lent piles, then started fire, and after
the fire was burning we'll the cobs were
piled on. put about twenty bushels
of cobs on, covering the heap up with
about three inches of earth. This was
done to char them. In three days they
were thoroughly charred. 1t was then
torn down, scattered out, and a buck
etful of salt thrown on; then water to
cool off the charcoal quickly. This
leaves the charred cobs hard and flinty.
It is fun to see the hogs go for these
burnt cohs. My plan is to start a cob
pit every third day during the fall. I
fed off bunch of hogs before started
the corn. cob pits, and it took three
loads of corn per day to feed them.
With the cob charcoal two loads OF
corn were all they would eat, and they
did better than on clear corn.
After the corn is planted and just
coming through the ground getsome
boys to stick the pumpkin seeds in the
ground in the rows of corn, in every
other row, eight feet apart, one seed in
q place. The work is done with the
fingers by pushing the seed into the
soft earth. Some persons think pump
kin vines an injury to the corn, but
they are mistaken as the vine gets its
nourishment deep down in the ground.
Having curiosity to see how deep the
roots of pumpkin vine did 60 down,
I dug down ten feet and did not get to
the end of the root. In dry season
the vines keep the moisture around the
roots of the corn, acting as mulch.
and at the same time keeping the
weeds down, saving one blowing.
Wherever the vines are the thickest
there the largest corn is. Even if I
did not do any thing with the pump
kins, firmly believe they are benefit
to the corn. I do not think it pays to
grind corn for hogs. I had fifty dol
lar mill and have been experimenting
with it. / find it does not pay to grind
feed for hogs. A man loses his time.
1 had seven breed sows with pigs that
narrowed in December, and fed them
on ground dry feed at first, but found
they did not do well. then made the
feed into Stops, and the sows seemed to
60 down all the time, while the pigs
were just rolling in fat. 1 found what
was good for the pigs was death to the
sows. So the feed was changed to
corn in the ear and raw turnips. w
M. WoodWorth, in Ohio Farmer.