THE PIG INDUSTRY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 58, Issue 39, 25 November 1937, Page 8

THE PIG INDUSTRY.

PRODUCING QUALITY FLESH. ROOTS CROPS VALUABLE. There must never ho a* store stage in the lifo of a pig, that is, if quality pig flesh is to ho produced and if the highest profit is to be made. The pig must he kept growing from birth to slaughter. When there is no separated milk or wliey, there must be a substitute, and this substitute in the main is best produced on ihe farm. It is generally considered that roots are the best while pumpkins and marrows are excellent.

From a quality viewpoint, there is nothing to equal the red carrot. This root contains everything desirable in a food, especially the minerals while it is probably the only root containing vitamins. The other day we read that margarine manufacturers were using an extract of the red carrot to put the important .Vitamin “A” into their product and thus make it a more perfect substitute for butter. The carrot is no doubt the most palatable root and should have a desirable influence on the flavour of the flesh. It may be argued that a greater weight of food will be obtained from a crop of swedes or mangels but if grown well in drills such a carrot as the Guerande will give a very heavy yield. Hie carrot has the big advantage of not being subject to disease and can be left in the ground for several months. When grown on the ridge system the carrot is very easily lifted. Such a carrot as the Guerande has been sown in October and has been ready for feeding by the following February. Sugar Beet. The sugar beet should be grown more than Jt is. It is perhaps even as palatable as the carrot. It is largely used in Denmark for pig-feeding. Why not try a small plot, on one row of your root crop, to see how it does. Many prefer mangels, but these require to mature. If not in the right condition when fed they will have an ill-effect on the pigs and may cause the boars to be ini potent. The late Mr D. Buchanan, the well-known large white breeder, whose' death was recently reported, had this experience one time. For seevral seasons his sows failed to breed. The fact that at certain stages there was something in a mangel that caused a boar to be impotent was pointed out to Mr Buchanan. He left off his usual custom of feeding mangels to his boars and from then on he had no trouble and he had record litters after leaving off mangel feeding. Artichokes Valuable. Artichokes are a popular pig food. Certainly they are useful in cleaning up a rough corner, and where some good meal is fed in conjunction with them the pigs do well on them. It should be unnecessary to emphasise that it pays to do the root crop well, that is to feed it well with [fertiliser, using a reputable brand of turnip manure. And a profitable crop cannot be expected unless the weeds can be controlled and this is only possible where the ridger system is adopted.