Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-09-09
THE PR0TEINS
IN RATIONS FOR
FATTENINC swine
Experiments Made by the Maine
Agricultural Experiment Sta
ton Twenty Years Ago
Some of the Important Re-
suits Obtained

Orono, Me, Sept. S.-(SpeciaD.-Prob-
ably more feeding experiments have been
made by Experiment Stations and agri-
cultural colleges with swine than with
all other animals combined Feeding ex
periments are often uncertain in their
results. because of the difficulty of elm
mating other conditions that may affect
the results more than the feed itself. Be-
tween the years 1888 and 1893 the Maine
Agricultural Experiment Station con-
Quoted series of feeding experiments
on growth These were carefully made,
the results APPEAR to be Trustworthy and
are as pertinent today as when made.
AS the reports containing the results of
these experiments are out of print, and
as they have direct bearing on the fat
tenlng of swine brief summary is made
the subject of this paper.
In these experiments it was found that
the profits of feeding swine depend in
part on the way in which foods are
mixed and not wholly upon market value.
Certain proportions of heterogeneous foods
like SKINNED milk, pea meal and gluten
meal increased the efficiency of the ra-
ing periods where the rations compared
contained practically the same digestible
material: $3.50 pounds of disestible food
with nutritive ratio ranging from Is to
L6 produced $50 pounds of growth, while
the same amount of digestible food with
nutritive ratio varying from 1Ss to / %
produced Gil pounds of growth,-that is
the narrower ration produced 80 per cent
more growth than the same weight of
digestible food in the wider ration.
Ihere was, however, no advantage In
putting into the ration more than a GER
tam proportion of protein. A ratio of 1.6
was compared with IA, and one of l56
was compared with another of LA the
resulting growth being practically the
same. When skim milk was substituted
for part of the ration of corn meal
without changing the amount of digesti-
Die dry matter fed the efficiency of the
ration was greatly increased. Still fur
'her substitution of milk for meal ap-
paced not to materially increase the rate
OF growth ration, one third the nu-
tritives of which were furnished bv
skinned milk in a single trial proved To
be worth practically as much as ra
ton two-thirds the nutritives of which
came from SKINNED milk. Each exneri-
ment shows that for part of the ration
corn meal is as good as skim milk, pea
meal or gluten meal For the remaining
part of the ration the heterogeneous food
mas special and superior value that
may over-rule the considerations of the
market
The part of these experiments that are
most important for the raiser of swine a F.
this season of the year is the marked
effect of heterogeneous food in balancing
up corn meal or other starchy food in
producing far greater growth when
httlns for market. than is obtained by
the same weight of starchy food alone |
The advantage of heterogeneous food in
the rations pertains to the fattening Pc
Rod as well as to the period of growth
mixture of pea meal and corn meal. or
gluten meal and corn meal proved To he |
greatly more efficient than corn meal
alone in finishing for market animals AL |
ready well grown and quite fat. The |
relative growth was from 20 to 90 per
cent. in favor of the ration containing
one of the heterogeneous foods. When il is |
considered that over 70 per cent of the |
weight added to the body of fattening
hog is fat and only per cent is lean
meat the favorable influence of a liberal
supply of protein on fat production is |
very apparent.
According to these experiments when
hogs are TO be fattened If one-third of |
the corn meal is replaced by gluten meal |
there will be so per cent. more growth |
than from corn meal alone Beef scraps. |
skim milk, linseed meal or other nitro |
genous feeds may be used in the place of |
the gluten meal. Cotton seed oil meal |
should not be used for feeding swine