The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1895-11-15
A Cornell Pig Experiment.


The Cornell University experiment
recent tests in pig feeding, from which
we take the following:
On account of the extremely low
price OF wheat for the past year a great
deal more has been fed to stock than
usual, and by men who have had little
or no experience in feeding it. In the
feeding Of wheat, as in every other
new departure, the lack of facts and
reliable data concerning the results of
previous work In this line frequently
hindered those who had wheat to feed
from obtaining the best results under
the circumstances. Particularly was a
comparison Of the feeding, value of
wheat with one or more of the most
common foods needed to help those to
compound a ration who have little
knowledge of the chemical composition
OF feeding stuffs. Until quite recently,
comparatively few experiments have
been made to determine the feeding
value Of wheat because the price for
Touring purposes prevented its use as
a food for animals in q practical way.
Now, however, many farmers who raise
wheat are confronted with the problem,
Can 1 afford to sell wheat at the mar
ket price and buy food for stock?" OF
course the character and quantity OF
the coarse fodder to be fed in connec-
ton with the grain, should determine
largely whether wheat is the most eco
nomical of the concentrated foods to
feed with it, but aside from this the
question of selling wheat and buying
corn meal, oats and bran has been one
not easy to solve by those confronted
with it, 1t has been said that farmers
in this state should not raise wheat;
that at the present prices it can be
purchased in the market cheaper than
1t can be grown on the improved land
with high priced labor. While this
may be true to great extent, the fact
still remains that this crop has taken
its turn in the regular four or five
years rotation and cannot be left out
without changing the whole system OF
farming. In many instances, no doubt
the system will eventually be changed.
but it will take several years to bring
1t about. Farmers as rule are con-
sentative and hesitate to try new de-
partures except in a small way at first.
This will be great influence in contin-
uing the cultivation of wheat in New
York State for several years to come,
although the money received for the
grain may be insufficient to meet the
expenses of raising and marketing the
crop. Then, too, the wheat straw Is
often the chief stable absorbent In the
grain districts and is of great value for
this purpose. AS the number of ami.
mails on the farms is increasing, par
ticularly In the dairy districts, the
question of providing absorbents for
the preservation of manure is not al
ways easily solved. In view of all these
facts it is safe to assume that wheat
will be raised for many years in this
state and that a larger portion than
formerly will be fed on the farms.
In order to make a comparative test
of the value of the wheat product with
that of corn as food for pigs, the food
was so mixed that the grain fed of each
kind had the same chemical compost
ton, SO far as the nutritive ratio was
concerned. 1t was found by mixing
twenty-six pounds of gluten feed with
one hundred pounds Of corn meal that
the nutritive ratio of the mixture was
practically the same as that of wheat.
This mixture was fed to one lot of pigs
and ground wheat to another. Each
lot received equal amounts of skim
milk.
Sept. 25th, 1894, twelve barrows were
selected from a uniform lot of thirty
pigs, about nine weeks old, and divided
into two lots of six each. Lot was fed
ground wheat and skim milk: Lot II,
corn meal and gluten in the proportions
mentioned above with the same amount
of skim milk as Lot /. Twenty-six
pounds of skim milk was fed to each
lot night and morning until about the
10th Of January, when the milk was in
creased to fifty-two pounds at each
feeding. Each lot was fed the food in
dictated until Oct 10th, when the pigs
were weighed and the records of the
experiment began.
The following summary states the
conclusions drawn from this expert
ment:
Corn meal and gluten gave the great
est growth and produced cheaper pork
than ground wheat.
Corn meal and meat scrap produced
a somewhat greater proportion of lean
meat than did corn meal.
The corn meal and gluten lot had
better appetite and consumed more
food than the lot fed ground wheat.
The corn meal lot consumed the least
food and made the least growth.
Corn meal and meat scrap produced
the largest proportion of lean meat,
bur not enough more TO make it COM
mensurate to the cost of the food con-
sumed.