The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1915-04-22
Forage Crops for Swine.

l 1850
souri, for this purpose are blue grass
alfalfa, clover, rape, cowpeas, so.
beans, rye, wheat and oats. Blu,
grass is probably the most common
of our permanent pasture grasses ant
will grow on land not suited for cul
tivated crops. While blue gras.
furnishes forage for long season
yet there are few weeks during thu
middle of the summer when a more
succulent forage should be provided
Alfalfa being a rapid growing plant
furnishes an abundance of forage fol
a long season. Some experiment
stations show that pork can be pro-
duced cheaper on alfalfa than any
other forage crop.
Clover makes one of the estforage
crops for Missouri, as it fits into the
crop rotation and helps to build up
the fertility of the soil.
On great many farms where hogs
are raised the fields are not fenced
hog tight and there is no green for
tage available for the hogs. On many
farms the hogs have access to blue
grass pastures, which do not furnish
fresh forage during the hot, dry
summer months. Hence, it would
be good plan to sow some rape to
supply forage during those few
months. Rape should be sown early
in the spring, as it is cool weather
plant and will be ready to pasture in
seven or eight week after sowing.
It will furnish forage until the ground
freezes up In the fall, but it should
not be pastured too close, as close
pasturing is apt to kill it. One should
have two fields, with;ehe a,few days
later than the other, in order-that the
hogs may be shifted from one to the
other when forage on the first one is
nearly gone. By using system of
this kind, fresh forage is always
available which is very important in
running hogs on forage crops. The
best results obtained from rape in
Missouri are by drilling the seed in
stead of broadcasting. 1t should be
drilled in rows of from "a to 80 inches
apart, at the ratio of 4 or pounds
per acre. This can be done with the
grass seeder attachment of a grain
drill by stopping up part of the holes. |
The rape should be cultivated while
small, and each time the hogs are
taken off the field, as Cultivation
keeps the weeds down and the ground
IN better condition. When rape is
drilled in rows the hogs don't waste
80 much of it as when it is sown
broadcast. It should be 10 or IL
inches high before the hogs are turn
ID in.
1t is generally conceded that in
lrv lot feeding bushel of corn will
'roduce about 10 pounds of pork.
During the year 1912 the Missouri
Experiment Station was able to pro-
uce 20.4 pounds of pork with a
nshef Of corn by the hogs running
n rape. Around most farms there
re usually some vacant lots which
ould be used for this purpose during
lis summer, if it would be advisable
, provide some ground to be used $
this way.
Soy beans or cow peas make a
God forage for swine when put in :
18th corn. The soy beans seem to
i've better satisfaction, as they are a
tile more resistant to frosts and
roughts. They should be put in g
18th a COW pea attachment on the 4
anter at the ratio of 10 pounds per
re. The following varieties are a
lapted for this use: Soy beans {
oroal, Mikado, Auburn, Ito San or u
edium Yellow. Cow peas-Whip- a
,orwill, Little Black, and Red Rip q
n. Z
The growing of these crops serves G.
double purpose, as they are rich in r
otein, which will tend to balance
e ration and they store nitrogen in
Q soil while they are growing. The
IN should be denied before the "
gs are turned in, and the hogs Of
ould not be given access to more ci
IN they will clean up in ten or OF
elve days. ne
One should drill in a small piece Of F,
y beans to NOW and put up to feed in
. hogs as rouQhness during the he
inter-, as hogs are very fond of the By
y and require very little grain fri