The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-06-20
Nat.raf reed,ne.

where hogs are led upon the rprinc1plo
Of developing the frame first and then
fattening with starchy foods, that little
trouble Is experienced from such dis
eases as cholera. and we maintain that
there would be less OF the trouble and
more healthy hogs generally in our
own country with larger and stronger
filters of pigs If the swine were fed
more naturally. AS an illustration of
the kind OF feeding we mean it may
be mentioned that the Yorkshire pigs
which took the sweepstakes award at
the provincial show at London, Can
ada, last year were allowed to suckle
their dam for two months, were then
weaned and fed wheat middlings and
skim milk four times daily until three
months old. A small amount of barley
and corn was added as they grew older.
After three months Of age their food
consisted largely of green clover and
later of green corn and rape. For six
weeks before beginning the finishing
period they were allowed to run in
small field of artichokes, which they
dug for themselves, besides receiving
a small quantity of whole corn scat
tered broadcast. This system which
won for the show would surely prove
just as effective and economical for the
production of pork. To be sure it
would not produce very fat swine and
they would not be of the lard variety,
but they could not fail to. have strong
frames and the choicest of meat while
healthy and in growing condition. A
frame built up in this way is the one
that will best lay on the fat produced
by heavy feeding of corn and will
Withstand the ravages of cholera, or
rather ward attacks off by strength OF
constitution and purity of blood. In
this connection we desire to say a few
words in answer to a correspondent
who desires to have our opinion on the
subject of cooking food for swine and
asks if it is not common practice to
cook the food given to swine for ex-
hibition purposes. 1t will be seen that
these Canadian hogs did not receive
cooked food and we do not believe that
there is any necessity of cooking the
food of young swine that are growing;
in fact, We would consider the prac-
tice foolish and wasteful of time and
food nutrients. For final finishing
cooking is correct practice if such food
as potatoes are used, for it has been
shown by experimentation and indeed
on our tables that the starchy mate
rails Of the potato are brought out by
boiling and rendering palatable and
perfect while the raw potatoes are Of
little use for fattening. heterogeneous
foods on the other hand suffer when
boiled. Peas, for instance, are said
to lose rs per cent of their nitrogen
GUS principle when boiled and the same
is true in less degree of boiled barley
and other grains containing large
quantities of protein. 1t should be re-
membered that boiling coagulates albu-
men heterogeneous matter or protein),
thus rendering it less easy OF assimila-
ton, but on the other hand it is bene-
fetal to starchy foods in that it rup-
lures the starch cells Cellular coating
of the starch grains) thus allowing tho
digestive fluid OF the stomach to op-
crate more perfectly. From this fact
it will be seen that sensible feeding
ideas should teach the use of natural
feeding for young growing pigs, such
as that followed in Canada in the pro-
duction Of the winning Yorkshires.
while the cooking Of food should be
applied, if at all, to the fattening pc
riod only and to such foods as are in
cluded in .Ae list Of carbohydrates
There are exceptions to this rule, how
ever, in the case of sick animals,
which sometimes do best upon scalded
food, such as bran, oilmeal, etc., and
the same is true OF the newly weaned
pig in cold weather, which sometimes
needs and thrives best upon scalded
food. On general principles, however,
in our opinion there is no economy or
profit in cooking the food for young
growing animals; it does, however,
help to make the carbohydrate food
Of fattening animals more easily as
simulated in some instances, as where
potatoes are used for fattening.