The farmer and mechanic., 1915-05-04
SOME SAY 1T PAYS TO "HOG OFF,
CORN

In these times when hired help is /
orten not to be had and corn must |
stand in the field. the farmer always |
can prIng his hogs to his aid in TAX |
ing care of it,
Many farmers yearly practice hog |
SlnS of the corn and some Of them
say II pays. An Ohio farmer turned |
Z spring pigs and older hogs into
lo-acre corn field in September The
spring pigs averaged 81 pounds and
the older hogs 156 pounds and the
'o,ai weight OF all was 1888 pounds.
Inc corn would yield about so
pushels an acre. and in il there were
a good many pumpkins. The eogs
nao access also to a 5-acre clover Held
| from which the seed had been re-
| moved
Water was hauled TO them and tney
had the shade Of the woods near by
In twenty eight days the hogs had
gained 6,522 pounds. At this time 5.
mead, averaging 245 pounds, were solo
at s5.15 per hundred. Tne re-
| nalnder were not sold. but the far
mer was offered s. per hundred for
| them.
Counting the entire gain Of 6.5e2
pounds at IS would make S326.1O. or
s32.6l per acre for the field. This paid
81 cents bushel for the corn which,
on the market, was worth 40 cents
Inc whole herd made an average
daily gain of 1.sl pounds per head
A man in southern Kansas who
makes practice OF 'hOgging down"
corn, uses a portal bic fence and fences
OFT to 10 acres at time Making in
more as needed. He turns the hogs
IN the corn in August.
ON : acres of corn one wear he
fattened so head OF hogs the corn
being estimated at ABOUT 600 bushels.
Of the bunch, AZ head were sold, aver
aging 240 pounds, netting $500
Allowing 100 pounds gain for each
hog on the corn thus fed, the corn
brought Al IL cents a bushei, with
out the expense Of sathe ring.
A farmer in Nebraska has beer
: 'hOgging down corn for numpel
Of years. About 500 head of hogs
| are turned off his farm every year
By gathering and feeding corn, be
1 sides that which was gathered by the
hogs, it was found that bushel O
{ corn "hoggeo down" will make a.
much pork as the same quantity husk
ed and fed, while the expense of har
vesting is sved
An Iowa farmer says that in hi
first years experience he snapped q
acres of corn beside the field "hogge,
down. The next spring both field
were sown to small grain under tn
same conditions and with the sam
preparation. On the land where cor
was "hogged down the wheat mad
ana the oats 7 bushels more to tn
acre than did the other. The diffe'
ence is just as noticeable in a sue
ceeding corn crop The husks, cob:
stalks and leaves all remain on tn
land, and these with the manuI
from the hogs, enrich the soil and IL
crease it's humus content.
The health Of the hog is an impOol
tant consideration. Hogs that hay
plenty of range and exercise are ~
nearly so susceptible to disease
those confined in a small pen. A hC
that goes out after his feed will I
well grown and thrifty, accustomed
exposure, and not liable to be injure
by sudden change Of weather.
It is difficult, however, to put
good finish on hogs while running
a large field or pasture. If they a
allowed to run until three weeks
a month before sending to markt
ey and are then shut up and given {
ng the corn they want, with plenty
r pure water, they will make We
at rapid gains.
in This man allows his pigs to RI
wv in the corn as soon as it is cultivat
et the last time, but does not let t
older hogs into the field until the co
OF is in good condition to feed in t
on fall He says he has also had go
'et results from letting cattle into t
IL corn first and following these Wi
hogs.