Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1888 [PAGE 238]

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FEEDING PIGS.

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designated by the letters G,'H, and I. Lots G and H contained each 3 Poland-China barrows and one Poland-China sow. Lot I was divided in the same manner as to sex, but these pigs including the sow were cross-bred Poland-China-Berkshires. I t was believed, however, that the feeding qualities of the three lots were very similar. This was especially true of Lots G and H. The pigs had previously been running after corn-fed cattle and had eaten, besides, a liberal supply of ear corn. Two days previous to the beginning of this experiment, the pigs were placed in a comfortable piggery with access to small yards by means of swinging doors, and during the trial they did not suffer materially from the very variable winter weather. They were weighed separately each Monday morning about 10 o'clock, having had no water since the previous evening. They were fed five weeks, Jan. 17-Feb. 24, as follows: Lot G, shelled corn; Lot H, corn meal; Lot I, equal parts by weight of corn meal and ground oats. The food was given dry, as much as would be eaten, thrice daily. All had water. The tables presented show the gains made, the food eaten, and the value of food per pound of increase, for periods both including and excluding the first week of feeding, it being deemed more instructive than to ignore the first week's feeding entirely, as it has an important economic bearing, while it would not be proper to include it where accurate comparisons are desired. The cost of the food was calculated at one cent less than the average price of the grain at the local market during the period. One-seventh, the usual toll, was added to the value when the grain was made into meal.

SHELLED COEN COMPARED WITH COEN MEAL.

Lot G (see tables 9 and 10) during a period of five weeks gained 181 pounds and ate 834 pounds of shelled corn; or 4.60 pounds of shelled corn produced one pound of increase. Lot H during same period gained 163.5 pounds and ate 738.5 pounds of corn meal; or 4.52 pounds of corn meal, produced one pound of increase. The pigs fed on corn meal, while gaining less than those fed on shelled corn, ate less and produced one pound of increase with eight hundreths of a pound less food. I n this case, the amount of shelled corn and corn meal necessary toproduce one pound of increase was practically the same. Excluding the preliminary week, Lot G during the period of four weeks gained 126 pounds and ate 677.5 pounds of shelled corn: or 5.37 pounds of shelled corn produced one pound of increase.