The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-01-19
GROUND FEED FOR STOCK.
A Discussion as to It's value Compared
With. Whole Seed.

WithN Whole oeeu.
Does it pay to grind feed for hogs
This question has been discussed for
years, but does not seem TO have Anal.
~ settled one way or tho other. The
learned experimenters are not agreed In
their conclusions, probably because
their work was done under different
conditions, and perhaps they had pre-
viously formed decided opinions which
rendered them incompetent to make
an impartial test, says a writer In the
Country Gentleman. Every farmer
knows that 10 obtain the largest crop
OF grain which the land is capable OF
producing, the humps must be crushed,
and the soil made mellow and fine so
that the network of plant roots can
easily penetrate IL In all directions, EN-
brace every particle and extract the
necessary nourishment from the land.
So in feeding animals-especially
greedy animals Ike swine--it Is i'm.
portant TO have the hard grain foods
reduced to fine meal, to enable the gas
trio juices Of the stomach to penetrate
every particle Of the mass deposited in
the stomach, and act on II in aid OF
digestion, giving the absobent vessels
fair chaneetocome in contact with
more of the atoms Of which the grain
is composed, and appropriate more OF
the nutrient from them. Not many
experienced feeders of swine will dis
pute this, but some will maintain that
the strong jaws of the hogs do grind
the grain fine enough. A writer not
long ago said, There is abundant evil
dence that the hog can grind and asim-
late his food better than the ingenu-
ity Of man can do ii for him" II IL
were true that the hog can grind his
food better than mill, II is certain
he has never done IL.
A neighbor once took me TO see his
hogs, which he said he was wintering
was good grist mill less than a mile
distan. / showed him the hogs dung
was full Of observation-disclosures kernels
not even broken. Oh" said e;"thats
nothing-they eat that all over again
and get the value out" Well, suppose
they did. Is such eating over of their
own executions wholesome for the
hogl Can whole grain and broken kerr
nels pass through the stomach and the
long, tortuous passage of the intest-
ines and again be- eaten without at
length causing injury There is not
a particle OF doubt that the dung Of
animals (like human excrement) is full
of poisonous germs elected from the
system, and which cannot again be in
troduced into the body without danger.
If hogs are compelled BY hunger TO eat
over their executions to save the part
" mastieated kernels. Is there not dan
ger Of inviting hog cholera to the pensi
il they do not eat 1t over, therti is a
great waste of grain unless a large flock
Of chickens should banquet on II.
have raised and fattened hoge for
more than half century, and know
that they greatly prefer ground feed
for regular diet, and will digest it
better, and fatten on ii faster than on
whole grain. Occasionally have fed
our hogs whole corn for change, but
they never half masticate it, and some
csmq through them as coarse as samp.
DR.. Lehman Of Saxony, Germany, found
that so per cent Of whole grain fed to
hogs was undigested, and says that
food should be reduced TO condition
more or less fine beford being given to
such animals.
S. II. Clay of Bourborn county, Ken
lucky, made several experiments in feed
ing hogs, with the following results;
Other conditions being equeal and sim
liar, one bushe Of dry corn made five
pounds and 10 ounces Of pork; one bus
bel of ground corn boiled. made at one
trial ia pounds and seven ounces Of
pork, and at another, trial, 16 pounds
scysn ounces of pork. and at another
is pounds of pork. A number Of ex-
perimcnts at different stations are all
agreed that the difference In favor OF
The meal is great and that it pays
well to grind grain for hogs Formerly |
Prof. Henry Of Wisconsin university as
serted that it did not pay to grind corn
Tor hogs, but he now says that when
,orn gets up to 50 cents bushel it
pays TO grind it.