Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1889-07-04
FEEDING THE HOGS.
Items of Interest to Farmers Based on
Recent Experiments.


Custom has long prompted tho far
mer to feed his hogs on carbohydrates
(fat-forming foods), corn being the
principal substance used, it being sup
posed that heavy weights could not be
obtained without excessive fat, but new
light has been thrown on the system in
the recent experiments OF Prof. Henry
of the Wisconsin Experiment Station,
which is very valuable to every farmer
ir the country. He found that by
feeding TO obtain the largest proper
tion of lean meat not only the health of
the animals was promoted but greater
weight was obtained. He selected six
pigs, and began with them when they
were 100 days old. Up to the begin
ming of the trial the pigs were fed alike
from the same trough, with a mixture
composed of shorts, cornmeal, butter
milk and skimmilk, the pigs hav-
ing been cross bred Jersey Reds and
Poland Chinas. The pigs were divided
into two lots of three each. The first
dot AZ were fed a ration composed of
six parts dried blood, six parts of
shorts and fourteen parts OF sweet
skimmilk by weight, while the second
lot (B) we're fed all the cornmeal they
could consume. They had small back
yards for exercise, and were fed for
1876 days. Lot A consumed in the 1876
days 1902 pounds of skimnilk, 1,415
pounds of shorts and 236 pounds of
dried blood, while lot b consumed
1850 pounds of cornmeal. OF the
actual digestible matter of the food
that of lot A contained 428 pounds of
muscle-making food (proteine) and
1888 pounds of fat-producing food Gear
bohydrates), and that of lot B con-
tanned 153 pounds of muscle-producing
food and 1893 pounds of fat-forming
food. The weights and relative pro-
portions of lean and fat on the car
cases of each lot were: Live weight
of lot A, 6694 pounds; dressed weight,
541s pounds; external fat $50 pounds;
lean meat, 233 pounds, and live weight
of lot B, 56l4 pounds; dressed weight,
451 pounds; external fat, 1856 pounds,
and lean meat, 1881 pounds. Tho
hogs fed for lean meats were
I9per cent. heavier when alive, the car
casses when dressed were 81 per cent.
heavier, the bones % per cent. heavier,
the large muscles of the back GA per
cent. heavier, the tenderloin muscles
SO per cent. heavier, and the blood So
per cent. heavier. OF all the meat
that could be cut from the carcasses
of lot A only SO per cent. was fat,
while the fat from lot b was 46 per
cent. The professor has demonstrated
that by judicious system of feeding
hogs can be made to contain a larger
proportion OF lean meat and weigh
more in the same period Of time than
hogs fed exclusively for fat, but he
fails to give the proportionate cost of
the food, which is the most important
item. The question with farmers is
whether lean-meated hog can be pro-
duced with as little cost as one contain
ing more fat and of the same weight.
Dried blood cannot be easily obtained
on some farms at a low cost, and corn,
being a staple product, will be given
the preference. The experiments.
however, are some of the most valua-
BILE ever conducted, and will at some
future time work revolution in the
present system of swine feeding. IN. G..
Farmer.
ITEMS Or INTEREST.