Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1902-05-13
TURNING CORN INTO PORK.
RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS IN FEEDING
AT THE KANSAS EXPERIMENT STATION
VALUE OF SORGHUM.

A. j. F., a reader from Marble Falls
Texas, asks: "How many pounds OF
flesh can be averaged from one bushel OF
corn in feeding hogs, ten months old, il
some cane, squash or watermelons are
fed along with the corn?''
This is question that does not admit
of satisfactory answer, yet l can
probably give some information that will
be of value. There are many factors
which enter into the answering of this
question, such as whether the hogs are
well bred or not; second, the care they
have received previous to beginning to
fatten; third the skill of the feeder; and
fourth, the season of the year at which
they are fed, as hogs will gain less in
cold weather, when larger per cent of
the food must be used in maintaining
vital heat than in the pleasant weather
of spring or fall. Probably also in ex-
cessively hot weather they will gain
less. This question has been written
about and experimental upon by some
of our most careful investigators, and
nearly all of our experiment stations
have made experiments. Perhaps there
is no more careful writer along this line
than F. d. Coburn, secretary of the
State Board of Agriculture of Kansas,
and in his book, "Swine Husbandry," he
gives the result of many of these expert
ments. They show variation in the
results as one would expect, because so
many factors enter into it. Ten expert
ments are as follows, giving the number
of pounds by each of ten hogs from a
bushel of corn: No. l, S IA pounds: No.
2, 8 3-5; No. 3, II; No. 4, II 3-4; No. 5,
l2; No. 6, 8 S-4; No. Z, 10; No. 8, IL 1-S;
No. 8, O.; No. 10, 10 1-2.
This makes an average of between ten
and eleven pounds. The previous treat
ment of the hogs also has much to do
with their gain. For example, hogs
taken from clover pasture, which are in
a healthy condition and their stomachs
distended by this food, will gain much
faster and give better results from corn
than hogs fed on grain long time. I
have known in my own locality hogs to
make gain of three pounds each day
for a month or more under these cOndi-
tions. There is no question but what
the gain from bushel of corn can be
largely increased by the method our
correspondent suggested, of giving them
bulky, succulent food with the corn.
Where they are certain crop there is
nothing better than squashes or pump
kins, but some experiments along the
line of feeding sorghum for the last two
years have led me to believe that this
will be the great feeding crop in con-
nection with corn for the future. The
saccharine in it is very fattening; the
hogs are very fond of it, and from twelve
to twenty tons of the green food to the
acre can be grown in a favorable season.
There is no question that the cost of
pork can be greatly reduced, and that
more than double the weight can be
obtained from a given amount of corn
by planting for succession of bulky
foods. Sorghum can be fed from the
middle of July until winter, or all win.
ter to the store hogs. Soy beans and
cow peas can be used for September,
October and November, and by the use
of these foods the farmer will make
cheap pork and can reduce his area in
corn.-Tribune Farmer.