SOW v. COW.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 14 October 1922, Page 9

SOW v. COW.

In the course of a highly interesting and suggestive article on "Pig-breeding in Scotland," iik the July number of "The Scottish Journal of Agriculture;' 3 Mr. Geo. Sinclair, manager at the 'Home Farm, Dalmeny, compares the weight of meat that may be provided in the produce of a sow, within a year, compared with that of a cow —"A cow will, as a rule, produce in this period one calf which, with twelve months'good feeding, may yield 5761b. of meat. On the other hand, what will the sow contribute towards the nation's food supply by producing, say., sixteen pigs in the year, assuming that they are of any early maturing variety, and are ifed for twelve months? Eight of them ■would have twelve months' feeding and eight of them six months^feeding, or an average for the l»t of nine months' feeding, as against the calf's twelve months. Sixteen, pigs at an average of nine months would dress 210 11b each, dead weight, or a total of 3360 " lb, all from the produce of one sow as gainst 576, lb from^he produce of one

cow in the same period. It must ber remembered, further, that three breeding sows can be kept for the cost of one cow." After dealing with the comparative rates of reproduction of cattle, sheep and pigs, Mr. Sinclair goes <m—"Tt. wocift- not be unfair to assume that it costs twice as much to produce one pound of beef as it does to produce one pound of pork, and that it takes one and a half times as long to pioduce a pound of mutton as rb takes to produce a pound of pork. There may be exceptions to this rule, but on the average these figures would prove coTrect. Another point in favour of the pig i"s its ability to consume produce that could be marketed only at a discount. 0