The gazette-times., June 18, 1914, HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION, Page 6, Image 12

6
nOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
Raising Fine Hogs in the Northwest
Some Ideas on the Best Way to Breed ancl Produce the Farm
ers' Mortgage Lifters.
$ This is the fifth of a scries
$ of articles by two men well in-
$ formed upon what the hog can
$ do for the Northwest.
By JAMES E. WITHYCOMBE
and E. L. POTTER.
NEARLY fifty experiments in pig
feeding have been carried on at
the Oregon Experiment Station in
the last twenty years. In some cases
the results have been unsatisfactory,
and in others it has been necessary to
duplicate the experiment a number of
times before correct results could be
determined. Nevertheless a number of
important problems relating to the feed
ing of pigs, especially regarding the
fattening for market, have been work
ed out. It will bo impracticable to give
a full account of each experiment, but
the principal points investigated will
be noted briefly.
The grain required fot 100 pounds
gain during tho fattening stage has
been a littlo loss than that required at
the eastern stations. Tho Oregon sta
tion has found the average to be about
450 pounds as compared with 500
pounds in the east. There are perhaps
two reasons for this; first, a balanced
ration has been fed in nearly all cases;
second, the pigs have been fed at an
earlier age. The western markets de
mand pigs weighing about 200 pounds,
whilo the eastern markets prefer a pig
weighing nearly 300 pounds. On exact
ly the same feed it will take about 50
pounds more feed to make 100 pounds
gain on the larger pigs.
Ground Grain.
Ground grain has in all cases proved
more economical than whole grain. This
result has also been confirmed by ex
periments conducted by eastern sta
tions with small grains, although east
ern stations havo found it unprofitable
to grind corn.
Skim milk has been fed in a largo
number of cases as a supplement to
wheat or barley, and in comparison
with these grains, fed alone. The gains
were in all cases larger and more eco
nomical. The pigs ato better, gained
more rapidly, wero better finished, and
brought a higher price at the close of
the experiment.
Experiments Are Told.
Leaving out ono experiment where
the results wero evidently abnormally '
high, and one where they were abnor
mally low, it was found that from 15!)
to 393 pounds of ski.r. milk were re
quired to take tho place of 100 pounds
of what or barley.
The average amount was 271 pounds.
This does .ot apply to feeding pigs on
skim milk alone, but to feeding 5 to
15 pounds cr day in addition to a full
grain ration. Tho proportion of milk to
grain for the most economical gains
was 3 pounds of milk tc 1 pound of
grain, or thereabouts. With grain at
1.25 per 100 pounds the milk might
be figured to have a value of about
46 cents per 100 pounds.
This estimate would not, however, be
s'rictly correct for two reasons. In the
first place the skim nilk ration was
compared with a ration of straight
grain, which abundant evidenco has
shown to bo not an economical ration,
and also Bomo other supplement might
have been purchased which would have
given equal results at less ccst than
milk at 46 cents.
For example, tankage" at 2$ cents per
pound would have been as cheap as
nilk at 20 cents per 100 pounds. In the
second place, the straight grain ration
may have been fed at a financial loss
and any profit that may have been
made from the mixed ration would de
pend upon the cost of 271 pounds of
aiilk being less than the cost of 100
pounds of grain.
Wheat Versus Barley.
Wheat compared with barley gave
approximately the same results on the
average. They wero compared in a
Bomber of cases, both when fed alone
and when mixed with skim milk. The
chemical composition of the two grains
would indicate that the wheat might be
the better when fed alone and the
but the results were rather to tho con
trary. Averaging all of the results, it
required 432 pounds of barley alone to
make 100 pounds gain; 337 pounds of
barley and 278 pounds of milk; 475
pounds of wheat alone, aud 309 pounds
of wheat and 2(34 pounds of milk. It
is believed that further experiments,
conducted on a larger scale, will show
less difference between the two gains.
Most of theso experiments were con
ducted upon a comparatively small
scale, where perhaps the individuality
of a singlo pig might have influenced
tho results.
Tankngo and barley vs. barley alone
showed that the pigs getting the tank
age made 54 per cent more gain, and
that 100 pounds of the tankage took
tho place of 413 pounds of barley. How
ever, it must be borne in mind that
tankage and barley, a balanced ration,
were fed against barley alone, which
forms an unbalanced ration.
Tankage vs. skim milk is a compari
son between two balanced rations. In
1910 two lots of pigs were fed, one on
barley supplemented with 10 pounds
of skim milk, and the other on barley
with i pound of tankage. In order to
make the rations of practically the
same nutritive ratio1 containing the
same digestible nutrients, the pigs
which were fed tankage also received
about 1 to J pound nioro barley per
day than tho other lot. The pigs in
both lots made a gain of 1.9 pounds
per day per pig, which is exceptionally
good. Tho feed per pound of gain was
also very low. The two rations there
fore proved about equal, as might be
expected from their composition. As
to cost, the milk was a by-product of
the farm and did not have a fixed mar
ket value. In this case 10 pounds of
milk was equal to I pound of tank
ago and the i pound of barley. One
half pound of tankage costs 1J cents
and the i pound of barley .02 J cents,
a total of 1.87J cents. The 10 pounds
of milk had an equivalent feeding
value and may therefore be considered
to have a value of 1.87 J cents, or a
value of 18 cent per hundred pouids
as compared with tankage at $50 per
ton and barley at $1.25 per 100 pound.
Wheat and barley have been con
sidered as good feed for fattening hogs,
and are without doubt the best among
all the cereals for this purpose. How
ever, the experiments mentioned were
undertaken for the purpose of deter
mining the value of supplemental food
that would constitute a more nearly
balanced ration. The Tesults show
conclusively the economy of combining
either skim milk or tankage with wheat
or barley for fattening hogs.
Some Pointers On Best Bacon Type
Faulty Breeding Often Responsible When Hogs do Not Reach
Packer's Ideal.
1IIE stylo of animal which best meets
the bacon curcr's ideal has often
been spoken about, but the desired
standard is not always reached, and
this in many cases is due to faulty
breeding.
To consider briefly one or two of the
indications as to what is really a good
bacon pig, we might start first from
the head. ,
Here, length of snout, whieh partly in-
cludcs.length of jowl and the absence of
loose . flabbiness so frequently seen
there, indicates as a rule a lengthy
animal. The idea has been to reduce.
tho cheap parts of the animal and . to
increase those which are dearer. On
that account a light forehead is neces
sary, but it must not be at the expense
of width of back or depth in the pig.
Narrow at Poll.
As a rule a pig narrow at the poll
(between the ears) is not the widest
on his top, nor is he the thriftiest of
I feeders. There may be exceptions to
'this rule, but it can be applied generally.
The advantages of a prominent eye and
a smooth unwrinkled jaw or cheek, as
well as width between the eyes, are that
they invariably indicate a smooth; lean
floshcd animal.
A Bhort heavy head is invariably as
sociated with a very round body and a
wide and very fat back, altogether a
very wasteful carcass. The neck should
not be too long, otherwise it indicates
weakness, and a short neck generally
goes with a short side, which from the
bacon point of view of course is not
desirable. It is important to note the
character of the middle piece.
The ribs should spring from the back,
but they should not be entirely round.
They should rather spring well and al
low the animal to bo turned out slightly
flat from the sides. There will then
be less wasteful fat on tho top without
decreasing the depth of the pig.
Maximum of Lean.
What is-wanted is a, pig that contains
a maximum of lean meat and an under
cut with as much streaky as possible.
The loin should of course be covered and
muscular, because so much depends on
good development there. Tho rump
should not be too straight, otherwise
the hams will invariably be short. There
should be no flabbiness about the bams
and a wcll-canied tail puts finish to a
pig, which helps it greatly at the time
of sale to tho butcher.
The quantity of bone should also be
accompanied by strength of bone, be
cause it is not possible to carry a
heavy weight without substance, Round
bone should be avoided as it indicates
lack of breeding and is invariably as
sociated with a fat carcass.
The pasterns should not be weak and
the pig should be straight on its legs.
This is likewise of great importance for
exercise is necessary in the production
of the best class of carcass.
These may seem small points yet they
all indicate particular functions which
the bacon pig is supposed to fulfill.
Hotel Benson
Carl Stanley, Manager
O. Ktrke Dmry, Asst. Mgr.
AFTEE and element proof
hotel with every modern
convenience and equip
ment. Central location. Two
beautiful dining rooms. New
buffet. Sample rooms. Bates
no higher than those in in
ferior establishments. Auto
busses meet all trains. Send
for beautifully illustrated
booklet.
PORTLAND, OXEOOK.
AGENTS WANTED
In Every Town to Hindle
LANGE'S MINERAL WONDER
A Natural Mineral Remedy,
At Large Profits. An Article of Great Merit,
and a Reputable Business.
WHITE FOR PARTICULARS.
H. W. LAKGE k SON
Portland, Oregon. Box 1071
The King of all
Exterminators
Tor Eats, Mice,
Squirrels, Etc.
SWATS 'EM IN A NIGHT.
AMERICAN DISTRIBUTING CO.
1004 Broadway Building,
Portland, Oregon.
BRIEF DAIRY LORE.
The calf stall should hi plenti
fully supplied with good, clean,
dry bedding.
No dairyman should forget
that his barn is a place where
human food is produced.
Observe with care and note as
a first point that a cow should
have a large and ample sized
body.
A brush or old whisk broom is
handy to brush off loose hair
and dirt from the udder before
milking.
What the dairy industry needs
most is an improved breed of
dairymen instead of a new breed
of cows.
The choice pure bred calf
would be a splendid and most
approprite gift for either the
boy or the girl.
To a certain extent nature
provides for the comfort and
food supply of the dairy cow
in the summer time, but if we
depend too greatly upon nature
in the winter time we may find
our returns somewhat unsatis-
factory.
barley when supplemented with milk,?
When In Seattle
Try The Frye
film t?t
IT'S NEW
IT'S CLEAN
IT CAN'T BURN
LOCATION IS RIGHT
ItMlf
i ih ir t
iiyir '0n7 3 Blocks From Depots
and Docks.
THE RATES ARE RIGHT
$1.00 Per Day and Up.
"IT LOOKS LIKE A HOTEL" THE FRYE IS THE RIGHT
That 'a What They All Say. HOTEL FOR YOU. ,