The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-02-08

fattening and middlings for young pigs
accounts for the above difference in
weight of hogs.
IHAvE found middlings in trial on
hogs of like weight, side by side, to be
better than corn-meal. But in this
table it will be seen that the hogs
average to weigh 59.4 pounds; more
than in the shipstuff-fed lots.
THE other four trials with fine ground
cob-meal gave pound of grain for 4.42
pounds of cob-and-corn-meal, showing
as good results or better than with clear
meal. Close observation of foreground
cob-meal convnces me that it has
very high value and that coarse cob
meal has little value.
THE clear cob-meal got by grinding
cobs and mixing from eleven to twenty
two pounds of cotton-seed meal, bran
or meal with it has shown beyond
question a decided nutritive value.
Good growth was got, as is noted, on
small amount of food, of which over
four-fifths was clear cobmeal.
FIFTEEN years of work with and for
farmers at institute meetings and by
correspondence have shown me that
the belief is almost universal that the
advanced shote, say weighing $50
pounds and upwards to 200 pounds, will
make growth cheaper than shotes
weighing $50 pounds and downward.
This false view is tenaciously held, des-
pite evidence to the contrary.
THIS trial was made largely to illus
trate the folly of our objectionable and
indefensible practice of keeping hogs
fifteen to eighteen months to obtain the
growth that may well be made in seven
to eight months. The growth made in
the first period would give a shote
weighing in seven months 240 pounds,
including his birth-weight. This would
he got from the feeding, on basis of
two per cent for maintenance, of only
$40 pounds more food than necessary
to maintain existence. Now if a shote
is kept fourteen months, or twice seven
months, the maintenance food at two
per cent daily would be 504 pounds for
the extra seven months uselesslv fed,
or, in other words, maintenance rations
are greater than the food of growth;
and those of us-which is about all of
us-who feed fourteen months actually
throw away more food in unnecessary
maintenance than the actual food of
growth by 44.4 per cent-144.4 the
amount actually needed. Regarding
this food as middlings at S14 ton, we
have value of 1852 thus lost in main
tenance, or, for the 1885, hogs of
our state, S13, 644 $40.
THE tables of this bulletin, and es-
pecially this one, show the miserable
economy of restricted diet. 1t is only
on such diet that we are in need of
wintering our shotes for the market:
O Maintenance ration is variable
amount, determined by age of animals
and surrounding conditions, and ranges
above and below two per cent of live
weight daily; but under favorable con-
ditions may be materially under two
per cent of live weight daily for a 120
pound shote. (2) The food of growth
is less than maintenance food, and
varies from LAB pounds to over two
pounds. This fact requires that the
days maintenance food is given should
be as short as good feeding will allow.
If we double the time needed to grow a
shote we use about three-fourths of the
food given for maintenance while on
the other hand but little over one-half
of the food goes for maintenance.
With middlings at S15 ton, the best
meal feed, by the tables, seven months
lost time in marketing costs in main
tenance 1913 per cent of the sale value
of the shote. (3) The more food given
up to little over pound growth per
day the more economical the growth
while excessive growth may not be so
economical as the growth just stated.
(4) The growth per day increases with
age up to at least $50 to 200 pounds.
(5) The cheapest growth is made on
young animals, gradually increasing
with size until the maturing period sets
in, when increase of cost is rapid. CO.
Skim-milk and meals are the most eff.
fective rations fed. Middlings is the
best single food; cob-meal, fine ground
is an efficient food and equal to clear
corn-meal. CD For fifty-six pounds OF
food fourteen pounds of growth was
got up to 200 pounds of live weight for
average of all the trials. This growth
at four cents pound, gives fifty-siS
cents for the weight of food in bushe
of corn; middlings gave 1873 pounds
growth for fifty-six pounds, or ga
pounds for 100 pounds, which, at foul
cents, gives S109 for the 100 pound;
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