The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1912-01-12
99aNa H SUCCESSFUL FARMERS sNaGa1a

must wallow through mud and snow
their bodies being down a the
ground, in order to get sufficient ex.
ercise to keep them In health. They
are forced TO lecome wet and muddy,
and the loss from disease is conse.
Quently very great. Many of the
best hog raisers In the middle west
consider tn mselves fortunate II they
do not lose their entire crop of hogs
once in every six or eight years
such a condition need never be con-
sidered in this section of. the coun-
try.
Concerning the soil, little need be
said for it is such in almost every
section that it will produce a maxi
mum yield of all kinds Of cereal
grains, as we'll as peas, beans and
other legumes, and in the most favor
able sections corn crops can be very
successfully grown. In addition to
all this, we grow here the most valu-
able of all hog feeds in almost per-
feet form; namely, alfalfa. With al
falfa, dwarf Essex rape and English
kale for forage a minimum amount of
concentrated high priced grain is re-
quired for best results. The trouble
has been, in many instances, to de-
pend altogether too much upon alfal-
ia. Because it Is a good forage
people should not make the mistake
of depending upon it alone for a feed
to raise. and fatten their hogs. The
hog is a g%regarious animal and is
physiologically and anatomically
more nearly like man than any other
domestic animal, his stomach, intes-
tines and Whole system of digestion
and assimilation is almost a counter
part of the human, and as a result
he cannot thrive on coarse bulky, or
very fiberous food. 1t is a good rule
to follow in hog raising, in all partic-
ulars, to put yourself in the other fell
lows place. Where you would thrive
and wax fat, Mr.. Hog will also think
that he has entered hog Heaven. You
would not long maintain your
strength and health on such a food
as alfalfa, either green or in the form
of hay, nor will the hog do his best.
l know that it is a common practice
to turn brood sows and young pigs
into an alfalfa lot and there let them
range during the most of the summer
without additional feed. This is a
very serious mistake; at no time in
his life history can as cheap gains be
made on the hog as in the early stag
es of his life.
In an experiment conducted under
my direction at the Wisconsin exper-
iment station, a number of years ago,
1t was learned that the proportion of
food of support or maintenance, to
total feed in a 50-pound pig was 10
per cent; with a 100-pound pig, rs
per cent; 150-pound pig, ~ per cent;
and a 2%0O-pound pig, SO per cent.
From this it will be seer that it takes
twice as much of the total percentage
of the food eaten to make up the
food of support between a 5O-pound
pig, 1t required 224.4 pounds Of dry
matter in feed to produce 100 pounds
of gain; in the 150-pound pig, it re-
CURED 1922 pounds of dry matter to
produce 100 pounds gain, and in a
2O0-pound pig, it required 1868
pounds Of dry matter to produce 100
pounds of gain. From this it will be
seen that the earlier In life that the
pig a be induced to eat largely of
grain the greater the returns that
may be secured from a given amount
Of feed; and, this is particularly true
" on thu Orain f0n1 nan h. fnI IL,
combination with alfalfa pastures. As
maintenance ration, alfalfa will just
about support a pig without allowing
anything additional for gain in
weight. The more grain, therefore,
a hog can be induced to eat
on alfalfa pasture the more rap
idly the gain and the greater the
With barley, mill stuffs, wheat,
peas, rye, oats and a small amount
corn, such as can be grown in this
country, We have all OF the grains
necessary for the most profitable pro-
1uction of pork. 1t may be said,
however, that these grains must be
in proper combination to give pa
liability and to supply the various
lutriments and other clements IN
proper proportion for growth and de-
without any waste. Dur
ng the winter months, roots and tu-
'ers, such as beets, mangies, turnips,
and potatoes, all of which
nay be readily grown In this coun-
ry, will be found very valuable as
supplemental feeds to the grain ra-
ion.
In addition to this we have a rapid
y growing dairy industry, the by-pro-
lucts from the dairy in the form of
kim and butter milk, we have an
ther valua' lie food supply which can
'est be utilized when fed to hogs.
Concerning the matter Of disease
is no large section of arabic
and in the United States that is as
rec from the many diseases to which
he hog Is heir as is this intermoun-
ain country. The sunshine is so {
right and strong, and the atmos- {
here Is so rare that all kinds of I
erm diseases have a poor chance for I
evelopment. l.
As to the last and most imnortanr !