Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-08-28
ARE swine PROFIT ABLE IN WINTER?
AN EXPERIMENT AT HIGHMOOR

Orono. Me-, Aug. 26.-(Special)-
The following has been made public
by Charles D. Woods. director of this
Maine Agricultural Experiment station
at the University Of Maine.
In the experiment on growing sheep
at Highmoor Farm the Maine Agricul-
tural Experiment Station found that in
the winter Of 1915 there were appar-
ent losses in the manure when 1t was
kept under the sheep as is the usual
practice with sheepmen. An expert
ment designed to study these losses
was carried out in 1916, and will be
reported later in these letters. This
experiment involved the construction
of a water tight manure platform and
the use Of hogs to work over the
manure to prevent losses from heat
ing. 1t was thought that swine might
do the work at far less cost than man
labor. AS shown below this surmise
was correct, for instead of having a
labor bill to charge against the manure
the swine made profit.
A brood sow and fourteen two
months old pigs were placed on the
manure December /. 1915, and were
kept there until June Z, 1916. The
swine were fed and handled as the SUI
perintendent found convenient. That
is. there was no definite program for
feeding decided upon and therefore it
varied moro or less from time to time
Although experiments conducted at
the Maine Station twenty-five years
ago make 1t doubtful If there is a prof
1t in feeding cooked roots, the swine
were fed a mash composed of cooked
turnips and ground feed as long as the
turnips lasted. Some whole corn was
scattered over the manure at times in
order to keep the swine at work stirr-
ing the manure. During the rather
more than six months the swine were
fed 10.S50 pounds of turnips, HOO
pounds Of corn meal. 900 pounds Of
whole corn and 2100 pounds Of mid
dlings and bran. The bran was used
only when there were no middlings
available. 1t took 1856 hours of the
chore boy to cook the mash and feed
and otherwise care for the swine.
The season Of 1915 was not a good
one in which to grow turnips at High
moor Farm and 1t cost fifteen cents
bushel to grow them that year. In
1914 it cost ten cents a bushel at High
moor Farm, and in some cooperative
experiments in Washington County
turntps were grown that year for less
than eight cents per bushel Grain
and mill feeds were high during the
winter Of 1916, though the prices
dropped as warm weather came ON.
Reckoning the turnips at Is cents a
bushel. the corn at $50 per ton. the
corn meal at $31 and the middlings at
$27 per ton. the feed used cost $s1.53.
Reckoning the time Of the chore boy
at Is cents per hour the labor cost
was $23.25. The sow was worth SIS
and the pigs $3.50 each when the ex-
pertinent began, total Of $40 for the
cost Of the swine. The total cost, for
the swine. their feed, and care at the
above prices, was $154.7s.
At the end of tho experiment the
sow weighed 270 pounds. and the pigs
averaged ia pounds each. None of
these were fat, but were store pigs"
and were worth cents a pound live
weight in June. The total selling
value Of the swine at the end Of the
experiment was $149.2S. It was
planned to have the SOW produce a
litter Of pigs in May. For some un-
explained reason the pigs were, with
one exception, born dead. This is no
fault Of the experiment, and hence in
fairness the receipts should be in
creased by an average litter Of eight
pigs worth two dollars each. The
plant food in the feed consumed at
normal prices for nitrogen, phospho-
ric acid ana potash was worth SGT.
Tho swine sho1ld be credited with at
least half Of that amount. Tho cor
rected, complete returns were, there
fore. in addition to having the manure