The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1898-08-19
Cheap Pork Production.

potatoes as economical feeds for the pro-
duction of>potk. The animals fed varied
in age from pigs just weancd to half
grown shoats, being all young, growing
stock. Unleachcd hardwood ashes and
salt were kept within reach and were
used by these pigs. The experiment
began September s, 1857, and cnGtd
February I6, 1898.
Following arc the results obtained:
Spanish peanuts, when harvested by
young pigs, were converted into pork
worth, at 3 cents per pound, $IS. 80 per
acre of peanuts, when all conditions were
favorable.
This piece of poor sandy land, which
gave return of over $IS per acre in
peanut pork, would not have produced
with same fertilizers over 200 pounds of
lint cotton per acre, worth $40 to $I2.
The expense of cultivating these peanuts
was much less than the cost of similar
acre in cotton.
In another field, with only half stand
Of plants, the value of the pork from an
acre of Spanish peanuts was $1o.o4 and
$7.S3 in two experiments.
Under favorable conditions, pork (live
weight) was produced at the rate of 1926
pounds per acre of peanuts, supplemented
by 3S bushels of corn.
With half stand of plants an acre Of
Spanish peanuts produced, unaided, pork
at the rate Of 261 pounds per acre, and at
the rate of $40 pounds per acre when the
acre of peanuts was supplemented with
354 bushels of corn.
When the fed pigs in pens only three
pounds of unhullcd Spanish peanuts
were required to produce each pound Of
increase in live weight. This is equal
to nine pounds of increase, worth 27
cents, as a return from each bushel of
| peanuts eaten.
Shoats pasturcd on nearly maturcd cow
peas and supplied with corn made almost
three times the gain in live weight made
by similar shoats fed exclusively on
corn.
The unfavorable effects of long contn-
ued feeding of an exclusive corn ration
to young pigs is plainly shown. The
unthrifty appearance of the pigs eating
nothing but corn was startling COM
mcntary on the financial loss following
such course.
The addition of corn to the peanut
ration increased the total gain, but it re-
quired more of the mixed food of peanuts
| to produce a pound Of increase.
The better effects Of the mixed ration
may be due to one or all Of the folio wing
| causes:
!. TO the undetermined amount of leaf
lets eaten.
2. To the more nitrogenous character
Tor better quality) of the mixed ration.
3. To the better appetites Of the pigs
on a mixed diet, resulting in the con-
sumption of larger quantity of corn
and in more rapid fattcning than oc-
Cured with the lot on an exclusive corn
dict. 1t is well established principle
that rapid fattening of pigs is effected
with less food per pound of growth than
is slow fattening.
The COW pea crop was above the aver
age, and its value in 3-cent pork, after
subtracting the cost of the corn fed, was
$Io.o5 per acre.
Shoats fed in pens gained more rap
idly in weight on ration of ground COW
peas and corn than on ground corn alone.
In effect five and quarter pounds Of this
mixed food was equal to eight p0.:uds Of
ground corn.
Three pounds of sweet potatoes proved
decidedly inferior to one pound of corn
meal.
The results show that under the condi-
tions of this experiment one pound Of
corn was worth much more than three
pounds Of sweet potatoes. These figures
do not enable us to place an exact value
on potatoes, but Indicate that pricing
corn at 40 cents per bushel sweet pota-
toes were worth less than I3 cents
per bushcl of So pounds. (Thc legal
weight of bushel of sweet potatoes va
ries in different states.)
If corn were worth SO cents per bushel