The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1899-09-01


part of the transaction. Many object
to marketing a pig before he is a year
old because they say he must be kept
growing from start to finish, and so
he must in any case, for the feed is
worse than lost while he is standing
still. The best results, however. are
not obtained by feeding expensive
feeds. can best give my ideas
how it can be done by relating a
friendly contest between myself and
q neighboring farmer few years ago
Although it may seem egotistical, it
has the merit Of being true. Mr.. L.
is very successful farmer and stock
raiser and when we met about the
middle OF March few years ago, he
INQUIRED how many pigs 1 had. AS
vet / had none while he had three lit
tiers. The last of the month we again
compared notes; he had sixty and l
less than fifty. 1 remarked that he
seemed to be beating me but we
would wait until we got the pigs to
market and then see who would come
out a head. Nothing more was said
at the time but we both understood it
to be challenge. We both had we'll
bred stock; his were Polan-China and
mine were Chester Whites. The sires
of our pigs were both eligible for reg
istry, but breeds cut no figure in the
contest as neither of US cared to sell
our best pigs for breeders. He was
milking thirtY-five cows and making
cheese at home so his pigs had the
sweet whey fresh from the vat. We
were milking twenty COWS and
making butter at home and the pigs
got most of the skim milk. He had a
large crib of corn while our corn had
been nearly all fed out in the winter.
We had hog pasture containing
about three acres of June and Alsike
clover, two acres Of creek bottom well
Seeded with blue grass and one acre OF
timber land With a creek running
through it. AS soon as the pigs began to
eat We made pen in which we placed
the troughs so the sows could not get
in to them. Here we fed the skim
milk mixed with a little shorts and
oilmeal About the middle Ut June
we turned them into an acre of clover
that was just budding and month
later two acres of early sown peas
we're ready to begin TO throw out to
them. A few acres of rye threshed
out of the shock early in August help
ed out until corn was ready to snap,
About that time Mr.. L. called me 10
to look at his pigs. They were in a
large yard with sheds but had no
pasture, They were round and
smooth, and filled out like fat hogs.
Mr.. L. said he had fed them on shorts,
some oilmeal and gluten mixed with
whey and all the ear corn they could
eat. He asked how they would COM
pare with ours. l told him they were
heavier then, but / did not think they
would be month later. From this
time on our pigs had corn. snapped off
and fed out to them in the pasture as
fast as they would clean it up until
the first of November when we drove
thirty-three of them three miles over
to Mr.. LIS place to be shipped to
market with forty-four of his. Our
pigs after being driven six miles aver
aged over 235 pounds while his, after
only being driven three miles from
his place to the station), averaged 1855
pounds. They were sDld separately In
Chicago and the heavier pigs brought
IL cents per hundred more than the
others. Here is difference of fifty
pounds per head in weight and l5cents
a hundred in price in favor OF pigs
that cost at the least calculation, 80
cents per hundred less to put them
in market. Wisconsin.
NM. GILL.
In The Prairie Farmer