Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1905-02-08
WAY 70 TaeAr PIES.
Government Tells the Farmers How 10 Sue
aesd with Swine.

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Washingtop, February A. - Of
course, being city man, you may
not be much interested in the feed
ing of pigs. You have your wife to
buy bacon right along without know
ing or caring wbat kind of feed that
particular hog tbrived or lived on.
But you have found that. some bacon
was sweeter and jucier than others,
aud you probably supposed that it
was due to the amiable characteris-
tics of the hog, to his training when
a youth so that his disposition did
not become soured, or, possibly, you
didn't bother to even think about
why it was nice; more likely you
didn't care SO long as it was pleasing
to your taste. But all the bacon you
buy would taste that way if the hogs
were fed properly.
Fifteen minutes reading of an in
teresting publication by the Depart
ment of Agriculture would convince
you of many things. First, that the
Southern farmer has been wrong in
cramming his hogs with corn, think
ing that would be the proper thing
to put on fat second, that the hogs of
the country would have much better
appetites and would prove much bet
ter investments if they were fed on
variety of things. There have been
many fallacious ideas among farmers
as to raising hog. Many of these
may be exploded by getting from the
department it's documents on pig
raising.
For instance, most of us fellows
who have seen few pigs brought up
to manhood and womanhood and TO
state of preparedness for the knife
of the butcher thought that hogs got
along better on cooked than un-
cooked food. This is not true. Cook
ing food for pigs to be fattened is
expensive and useless, according to
the experts. For breeding stock and
sick animals, cooked food is all right.
1t is healthy and makes thrifty pigs.
Experiments show that barley
compared favorably with corn as pig
feed. For giving taste and flavor to
bacon and hams, it surpasses any
known grain. Pork of the first quail
ity is produced in barley regions.
The department reluctantly admits,
anyhow, that American bacon is in
ferior to that of Canada and far in
ferior to Danish bacon. The English
man and European eat American
bacon because there is not enough
of the other kind to supply them.
Flabbiness and softness of the sides
of hogs is the complaint against
American pork. Corn is softening to
bacon, and barley is just the oppo-
site. Where barley cannot be had
the next best bacon is from hogs fed
on a ration of one half corn meal and
the other half a mixture of equal
parts of oats, peas and barley. A
ration of peas alone is good and still
better when mixed with other things.
Danish bacon sells much above
American bacon in England and re-
mains about the same price.
AT the South Carolina experiment
station experiments were made. Pigs
were fed with all corn and with all
COW peas. Those fed on cow peas
did not gain in flesh as fast as those
on corn, but the meat was better. A
ration of half corn meal and half
ground COW peas was much better
than. all ground meal, producing
much more flesh and better flesh. An
experiment was tried with peanuts
also, and the peanut-fed pigs simply
"walked away" from the corn-fed
animals. The South Carolina expert:
menters found that an acre of corn
would produce l39 pounds of pork,
while an acre of peanutr would pro-
duce 4S7 pounds of pork. That was
estimating Is bushels of corn to the
acre and 80 bushels of peanuts, but
the peanuts might be worth more