The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-13

because of its action as a regulator of the bowels. The station remarks in conclusions:
 Alfalfa and ensilage combined fur nishes Q feed that can almost invariably be depended upon. no matter what the season is. When grain fails 1t will keep stock in good condition; and when grain Is available will enable the feed CT to put on gains rapidly with com paratively small allowance of grain" If our readers will substitute clover for alfalfa, results, while not Identical but in some measure similar. will doubtless be obtained.--Exchange.
 Is Grinding Feed for Hogs Profitable Texas Stockman.
 This question is one that is frequent ly asked by farmers and feeders. Feed Ing corn dry in the ear Is the prevalent method practiced by the mass of gen eral farmers. It is so from the fact that 1t is the easiest way of feeding the corn. A basket of corn from the crib to the pen requires so little effort and Is so much easier and quickly done. that the majority of farmers do not argue the question as to whether 1t Is cheaper or more profitable to feed the hogs than If it were ground or soaked.
 It Is claimed that the prevailing idea among farmers is that cornmeal gives the best results in swine feeding. notic- ing that their hogs grow more rapidly when eating corn meal. This Is not a safe way of Judging as to the benefits derived from the corn meal, unless the feed Is weighed and the gains of the hogs are also determined by weight.
 The pigs may be eating greater quan- titles on the one hand than the other. The experiment stations come in and relieve the farmer of his effort to dvs. termine which is the best for the farm CT to feed. Professor Henry, of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station, has tested this matter thor oughly for years, and from the aggre- gate of his experiments concludes that grinding corn saves about per cent as compared with the feeding of whole corn.
 great many feeders who make a practice of soaking their corn believe that they get all the benefits in feeding soaked corn that the feeder of corn meal gets. They believe that it assists digestion and the trouble of soaking Is cheaper than that of grinding, and as there is per cent saved in the corn meal, 1t must also be taken into &C., count. the cost of grinding.
 %SAOSSOA 4AOhAy dloO COhHIGuLG upon the fact that the best gains are not made with clear cornmeal: that they need more protein than is afforded by an exclusive corn feed. Corn meal and heavy wheat middlings made into a slop are so much better and eaten with greater relish by the hogs, than an ex- elusive corn meal slop as 1t tends to balance the ration of corn.
 The conclusion arrived at by practi- cal breeders from these experiments are that there was not enough gain In the feeding ground feed, over that Of whole corn to go to the expense Part of this difference is accounted for in the fact that the hogs, in nasticat- Ing the corn. mix with 1t more of the saliva and chemical properties required by nature in the digestion of their food, tha tthe corn sIop even when mixed, with middlings. were gulped down without mastication and was not in as good shape for the animals to get the most out of the feed consumed
 In answering the direct question in the light of tests made by the experf- ment stations and of good farmers. taking into consideration the cost of grinding 1t does not amount to enough difference to make 1t profitable.