The Washington times., 1919-05-01
HOGFARM TO
DISPOSE Of
DC. GARBAGE
Capital to Experiment With Pig
Raising Business, Food to Be
City'S Waste.
By BILL PRICE.

By BILL PRICE.
The District government TO-DAY took
the first official steps to go INTO hog
raising as a means Of disposing OF
city garbage.
The move is experimental and on
4 small scale. but ii is expected u
demonstrate the facts as to the value
OF garbage for hog food and the
profits to be derived from producing
OfficiaIIy-grown pork.
The Commissioners approved thu
recommendations OF Morris Hacker,
supervisor of city refuse, made II
Col F. S. Besson, Assistant Enginea-
Commissioners, that 200 pigs b.
bought and raised at Blue Plains.
This recommendation was. made after
a study of hog raising by Colonel
Besson and Mr.. Hacker, who recently
visited the hog farm of the Naval
Academy, near Annapolis. They were
accompanied by Commissioner Gardl
ner. long an advocate Of the use o.
city waste for raising hogs.
Plan Has Been Tried.
In a way the plan is not expert
mental as many American cities have
for years disposed Of their garbage
for hog raising-some of them to coLi-
tractors owning large hog farms anc
others owning their own farms anc
stock of hogs.
Blue Plains is the name Of the site
Of the Home for the Aged and Infirm
OF the District, the superintendent of
which is w. J. Fay.
The plan approved is to purchase
about 200 pigs. carload, and feed
them at Blue Plains from garbage,
most Of which viii be gathered in the
territory east of the Eastern branch
OF the Potomac. Instead of the gar
bage wagons hauling their collection
70 the central garbage plant in the
southeast for shipment to the reduc-
tiOn plant, at Cherrydale, Va, they
win carry it to Blue Plains.
The Department Of Agriculture will
be asked to lend the services OF DR..
3. T. Woodward, OF the Bureau of
Animal Industry, who has made a
special study Of garbage feeding and
was loaned by the department to the
Naval Academy for what appears to
be one Of the most successful Govern
mental hog raising experiments in the
country.
To ImmunlEe PIEB.
DR.. .woodward's duties will be to
look after the health Of the pigs, es-
.pecialIy in having them immunized to
-EnOleEds Lne All nOE Diseases.
Mr.. Hacker tells the Commissioners
that the pigs, immunized, thoroughly
inspected, and delivered in Washing
ton, freight included, will cost about
$50 each, a total expenditure Of $4,000.
Erection Of shelter houses, Feeding
platforms, and racks, fencing, ETC.,
will cost about $1,000.
II is estimated that the smallest
possible gain in the weight OF the
pigs in four months will be 100
pounds each. or 10000 pounds. Com
missioner Gardiner believes the gain
viii average from $50 to 200 pounds
from the rich garbage they will get
The minimum gain in flesh, at 20
cents per pound, will be $4,000, the
gain alone fully paying the original
cost of the pigs. Farmers believe
they will be able to sell live hogs
at from % TO % cents a pound next |
fall and winter.
No Profit ut First.
There will be no profit in the frst
test 1T is pointed out but If continued
will become profitable.
The experiment will be carefully
watched from every point, with the
belief that it will point the way to
the District finally buying additional
lands near OccOQuan or elsewhere, and
going into hog raising on a huge
scale, using city garbage for the pur-
pose. Enough facts should be known
by next fall, when Congress takes up
the District appropriation bill for
1891, TO demonstrate whether it will
be advisable TO go into the business
permanently.
Garbage disposal has given many
cities of the country trouble in the |
last few years, owing to shortage of |
help. old disposal machinery, and !
other factors. Baltimore has tried |
various plans, and is now selling her |
sarbage to contractors owning hog |
:arms. St Louis is doing the same \
th.ng.
Until the facts Of the experiment
are fully known the District Commits |
sioners will continue to dispose OF |
garbage, not used for Blue Plains 1
pigs, at the disposal plant in Virginia. |
That promises to be pretty costly. /
When the District was compelled to /
buy this Privately-owned plant about |
year ago ii sold the greases derived |
from garbage at 1914 cents per pound. |
To-Day these greases. used for soap
making and machinery greases, bring
81 cents per pound The drop is
accounted for by the fact that during
fhe war the Government bought
Elycerln, the by-prOduCt OF soap
making, for nitrO-glycerin
Until two years ago the District was
paying about S134, 900 to contractors
for collecting and disposing Of the
garbage OF the District, the contraG,-
tors selling the by-products and fer
Jilizers. The District is doing all this,
TOO, but the disposal plant il bought
- getting obsolete, and the belief is
strong that hog raising on a large
scale would prove profitable as against
= very heavy cost as at present.
ASK TEsTAMENTARY LETTERS.
Mrs. Hattie NJ. Peet and Miss Grace
Willis have flied a petition with the