El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-10-05

w = ASHINGTON, D. c., Oct g.
W What this country needs more
than anything else is the su-
perpig. Indeed, our future as nation
depends in no small degree upon the
production of this hoped-for animal
for which reason it is that the depart
ment of agriculture is at the present
time actively engaged in hog-breeding
experiments on scientific lines in a
number of states.
We should realize that ours is al
ready the great pig raising country of
the world. On the first day of last
January there were on farms in the
United States 60, 410, 900 hogs-that is
to say, about One-third of all the pork
ers that walk on four legs over the en-
tire globe. Iowa (our greatest hog
growing state) has 9,6S9, 000 pigs
1000 coo more than France possesses,
fOur-fifths as many as are to be found
as the whole of Germany owns.
Think of it, other nations may sur
pass in battleships, but when it comes
TO the counting of hogs where are
they2
Not, of course, that a pig, as an in
dividuaI beast, amounts to much One
might 8sperse his manners and even
inquire what cOntri button he makes to
the aesthetic side of nature. But in
the aggregate he claims consideration
dS one OF the DE1uclpdl means VI Jul
national subsistence.
Pig to Crowd Beef Out.
Government experts say that time
is coming when the pig will crowd the
beef animal out of the United States.
As the country becomes more thickly
settled, and land grows proportionately
dearer, it will cost more TO produce
cattle The rich may still have beef
steak and roast beef, but ordinary
folks must be content with something
-
all meats. Relatively to other kinds
of meats, it is destined TO become pro-
gressively cheaper. For the common
people. it is the meat of the future.
See what has happened in China
That country so much older in civili
cation than our own, has already
passed through the experience with
which we are now beginning. The pop
ulatiOn, in fertile regions, exceeds in
density that of Belgium. This means
that there is a very close balance be-
tween food demand and area What is
the result? Simply that, where meat
production is concerned, the only ami
nal that has survived and held its
place in China (barring poultry is the
pig 1t is the only beast killed for
food.
To improve the hog as much as pos
81 bic is of utmost Importance. What IS
wanted is a porker that will grow rap
idly and have numerous progeny. The
a year sometimes tWo), averaging not
more than four piglings. The superpig
will give birth to two filters every
year, of seven or more piglings each.
That such an animal is far from being
unobtainable is shown by the fact that
sOws are now being bred which can be
counted upon, when properly kept and
cared for, to do this very thing.
Most Economical Animals.
The great American hog is the most
economical of animals. OF what a
horse eats, So percent goes to waste.
Forty-fOur percent of the food con-
sumed by cattle is similarly lost, and
80 percent of all that sheep take into
their stOmachs. But only u percent
of what d pig eats is wasted. Fifty
two percent of the food eaten by hog
goes to make growth. A sheep util-
ICES only 25 percent of its sustenance
for growing-Which means, Of course,
the production of meat.
These figures are obtained from re-
cent experiments made by government
experts, who find, as a result of their
study, that the pig has what they call
an economic superiority" even over
poultry. That is to say, it produces
more meat in proportion to its weight;
and the animal weighs more in proper
ton to the amount of food it consumes.
percent of the carcass of
a hog is utilizable as meat; of the beef
animal rs percent is edible, and of the