The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1918-09-20

hdSt Lansing, Mlcll.-A collStaHt Deu-
fellow of high prices, whether these
high prices be Of chewing gum, loco
or of feeds for live stock, Is
the substituted something Just as
good at price that will fit your
pocketboOk." War times are their
breeding season and with them come
problems. Often ii happens that these
substitutes are almost godsend TO
nation ut its wits end To secure the
replacement of some vital commodity
that has climbed beyond our reach,
though it must be confessed that AT
times we also encounter products
which while seeming to have all the
merits of the original, lack an essential
something which units them for our
purposes.
This was the experience obtained at
some cost by many Michigan pork pro-
ducers who attempted last season to
use velvet beans as Il substitute for
wheat middlings. The experiences of
roborated by feeding experiments at
Nj. A. G.
The velvet bean is Il Southern crop
that within recent years has enjoyed
Il world of advertising. In its Southern
habitat ii seems to have become II very
valuable grazing crop-which fact.
coupled with its high food content, led
dealers to assume that ii would be a
good commercial feed. Accordingly,
when middlings reached n price of $40,
corn $50, and tankage 500 II ton, the
coming of velvet beans and pods Gun
grOund) valued at $3.50 II ton, and
velvet bean feed Oceans and pods
ground together) ut $40 ton. made
the product look attractive. Ii is now
reasonably certain that velvet bean
feed is not profitable for pigs-at least
not as they must be fed in Michigan.
This conclusion has been arrived at
by the experiment station as the result
of Il number of feeding trials with pens
each lot of pigs was fed Il different ra-
ton. To lot No. ] was given velvet
beans and pods, unground, from IA self
feeder. Those in lot No. We're fed
velvet bean feed; lot No. received
velvet bean feed and wheat middlings
in equal amounts; lot No. 4, velvet
bean feed and corn in equal amounts ::
lot No. 3, velvet bean feed, corn and
wheat middlings in equal amounts; lot
No. g, velvet bean feed ten parts, corn
ten parts and tankage one part, while
lot No. Z, which was used rs a check,
was fed ten parts of corn, one part of
tankage and no velvet bean feed what
ever. The pigs I'm lot No. | were fed
dry beans and pods in Il sef-feeder and
watered in Il trough, while the animals
tons as Il slop with water.
The results were us follows:
The pigs in lot No. !, fed velvet
beans and pods, unground. from self
feeder, consumed 461 pounds of feed
in the % days they were under test.
At the end of the % days they had
madee gain from an average initial
weight of 91.9 pounds each to final
average weight of 94.S pounds, or an
average daily gain per pig of only IL
pound. II was necessary To feed 22.27
pounds Of velvet beans and pods for
each pound of gain--or an average
gained.
The seven pigs In lot No. >. which
received velvet bean feed Oceans and
pods ground tOgether) at the end of
% days showed an average gain each
Of only 10 of a pound daily, at feed
cost Of $39.SS for each 100 pounds gain
IA cost almost two and a half times
as great as the top price being paid for
pork ut the market.
The seven pigs i'm lot No. 3, which
were fed ration of equal parts of vel.
vet bean feed and wheat middlings for
% days. showed an average daily gain
Of 20 of u pound each, ut feed cost
Of $23.35 per 100 pounds gain.
The five pigs i'm lot No. 4, receiving
equal parts of velvet bean feed and
corn for period of 81 days, showed an
average daily gain of .43 pound each
at n feed cost of $1S.9S for each lW
pounds of gain.
There were six pigs In lot No. 3, Il
which were fed n ration Of equal parts
of velvet bean feed, corn and wheat
middlings. At the end of II days these
pigs showed an average daily gain OF
80 of pound each, put on at cost OF
$16.72 for every 100 pounds gained.
The five pigs in lot No. 9 were fed a
ration consisting Of ten parts of velvet
bean feed, ten parts OF corn and one
part of tankage, showing an average
daily gain of % of n pound at the END
of u days. These gains were made ~,
n cost of S17.l0 for each 100 pounds OF
gain put on.
The six pigs in lot No. z, which IL will
be remembered was the check lot, were
fed n ration of ten parts of corn, one
part of tankage and no velvet bear
feed at all. These feeders, at the enc