The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1915-09-03
PEANUTS AND
PORK QUESTION
DISCUSSED
L. 3. BURkEY Of TEXAS, AN
AUTHORITY ON THAT sYeJECt
HAS SOME INTERESTING 'NFoR.
NATION IN THE SOuTHLAND.'

1t has long been known that pea
nuts, when fed to hogs in large guam
titles, would produce soft pork. The
packers are objecting seriously to this
soft pork, and soft lard. In fact,
many buyers are paying from l II
to cents per pound less for peanut
fed hogs than they are for corn-ted
hogs. This is a serious problem, be-
cause the farmers can not raise hogs
profitably when they are forced to
raise them on grain or bought feed
alone.
The question then arises, can this
soft flesh be profitably changed to a
firm, desirable flesh, and how? The
Alabama experiment station worked
for several years along this line with
view of determining how long it
would take, and what kind of feed is
necessary, to bring this pork back to
a normal firmness. The melting point
of the lard was made the basis of
the experiment, and hogs fed by four
different methods were used:
Hogs that had been fattened on
corn and had not received peanuts.
Hogs that had been fattened on
peanuts.
Hogs that had grazed on peanuts
for thirty or forty days ard then fed
corn alone for twenty-five days.
Hogs that had grazed or peanuts
for thirty or forty days and then fed
thirty-fve days on a ration consisting
of corn three parts and cotton seed
meal one part.
The lard from the corn-fed hogs
melted at a temperature of 43 de-
grees Centigrade. When the lard
melted at this temperature, both the
meat and the lard produced were sat
isfactory and of a kind to which no
one objected The melting point OF
the lard from the peanut-fed hogs was
reduced 10 to 10 degrees, giving a
melting point of 2S to 33 degrees in
stead of 43 degrees. Instead of being
firm, it was nothing but oil, and in
many cases it would not sc lidify. The
bodies were also soft and fabby. This
kind of meat and lard are, of course,
Objectionable, and the buyer is justi-
fled in purchasing the hogs at re-
duced price.
1t was found however, that this
soft flesh and lard could lie brought
back to normal firmness (corn stand
ardD within thirty-tive or forty days
if the proper ration was fed.
When the peanut fed hogs were
placed in a pen and fed corn along
for thirty-fve days, the melting point
of the lard was raised from 2S.3 to
SO degrees, and when similar hogs
were placed in a dry lot and given
ration of corn three parts and cot
ton seed meal one part fcr thirty-fiye
days the melting point of the lard
was raised from 24.3 to 1910. Thus
it is seen that a full ration of corn
alone failed to bring the firmness of
the pork and lard back to corn stand
ard in thirty-five days, but on the
other hand the ration composed of
corn and cotton seed meal brought
it completely back to the corn stand
ard in that length of time. Therefore,
according to the Alabama tests pea
nut-fed hogs can be hardened salts
factorily by feeding ration COM
posed of three parts corn and one
part cotton seed meal, by weight, for
period of thirty-five or forty days.
Although no experiments have been
made in hardening peanut-fed hogs
with kafir, maize or feterita, we feel
safe in saying that anv of these
grains, since they have all been found
to produce as satisfactory quality of
pork and lard as corn, may be used
in combination with cotton seed meal
in the place of corn with good results.
Although cotton seed meal can not
be fed to hogs in large quantities sue
cessfully for long periods of time, it
has been shown by various EXP iri-
ment stations that it can le fed in
the proportions stated abo"e for thir-
ty-tive or forty days with almost alb
solute safety.