Rations for Lean Pork

Southland Times, Issue 10056, 5 January 1889, Page 4

Rations for Lean Pork

The annual Bulletin on tbe Wisconsin Experiment Station for 1887 contains a report of a valuable experiment by Professor W. A. Henry, director of the station, • Tbe problem was to determine the difference in .fleet of highly carbonaceous and highly nitrogenous foods in feeding bogs. It is an old le»80D, chough proved in a new, etrikiDg and convincing manner. Not only are weights and figures used to show the importance of oome protein in the food of Bogs, but drawings and paintings were also made ilinstratinng the body after cooling, cut iquarely across at the peck, at the loin, and between the fifth .and sixth ribf. Six pigs were divided into two lots of three each when they were 100 days old. One lot was giren fall feeds of fine ground corn meal and the other a ratios con■Uting of one part of dried blood, 6 piita short* and 14 parts *weet fkim-milk by ■weight. Tbe cxpsriment was continued 13C days, When killed the h<-gs' blood, hair, hide?, bones and otber parts were weighed perarately, and photographs and paintings m^de to preserve the appearance if the relative sizes bf the muscles in each ca*e. From the paintings lithograph plates were made for the report,' showing that the portein food produces much the largest tenderloin, and other muicles along the spine, and tide*. The live weight of the lot fed the mixed ration was 19 per cent, and the dressed weight 21 p« ent heavier than that of those fed clear corn meal. Tbe kidneys were 42 per cent, spleens 33 per cent, livers 32* per cent, blood caught in killing, 59 per cent, hair 36 per cent, skin 36 per cent, two tenderloin muscle», 38 per cent, and bones 23 per cent heavier than those fed clear c^rn meal, Thirty-eight per cent of all the meat that could be cut from tbe bones of the lot fed tbe mixed ration and 46 per cent of that in the other lot was 'fat.'. Tbe thigh bones weie 62 per cent stronger in tbe lot fed the mixed ration. Tie experiment Bbows when we fred car hogs a ration rich in csrbo-hydra'tß, but lacking in portein, like clear c^rn, tha«— 1 Tbere is an excessive development of fat not only of tbe mn»cle« aad b 3 neath the »kin but alio smen? the mnacle-. 2. The muiclet fail to develope to their normal sis*. 3. An

abcorinally sriiftU ambarit of hair and a thin •kin reenltt, ".fa While the (I br)jiii^Keai*,.aiid ilurjgi do not aeern td; change tn '^ewbt. the »pleeq, liy»r. kn^ kidnej*, .are .'.iinn-iqally ■mall. 5. The amoDnt of blood in the body ii greatly reduaed from the normal. 6. The strength, of .the bones may be reduced one half what-they^Bhoald be.^ - • •— • I Itwould seem that we may cnnclude, that a system of feeding which robs the hog of half of his blood andhalf thenaturaljitreugth of ; hii bones," and. prodnces- ot-er vibiept ch&niget, is a most unnaturalbne, and tn'ust, if persisted in, end in giving us a race of animals which will be unsatisfactory to all concernedi From parents thug weakened mast 'come descendants which will x f all easy victims to disease and .disaster. , Knowing the fact* here set' 'forth can we any longer wonder that our hogs are weak, in constitution and eaiily break dow,^ whtuj. attacked by disease? . Nor is tbis all ; the meat from Bach animals can hardly be of flavour and composition entirely satisfactory to the consnmer, I believe we can feed hogs more profitably by. rational methods Jhan 3>y the unscientific and shiftless ways now only too common. First of all, wemust see to it that breeding bows are fed a proper ration in whioh portein compounds form a liberal share. The young .'pigs. must likewise have a goodly allowance of portein, While the mature hogs,' whj-B fattening, can be fed a large proportion of carbon.hydratei'.especially if we wish to make a large proportion of lard. <; The food articles at our command which are rich in portein are skim-milk, . buttermirk; shorttj-. ibran, peas, green clover., and :.tbe.iikek No farmer can afford tb manage his farm with a minimum of tbese muscle-making foods ; they should be supplied abundantly, . and at a reasonable cost if we will only study to do so. Khali we raise less corn, then 1 Not at all, The corn crop is best of all we raise, and let the word be ' more,' rather than less. We need it all, but we mutt not forget that portein is somewhat lacking in the corn. We may compare onr corn to tke brick which goes into a. building, and the portein foods to the mortar which cements the brick together. He who wonld lay up brick without mortar builds fooli-hly, and his home will tumble. Shottid he find out bj.s mistake such a man . should not from tbat date neglect the brick and turn his whole attention to the mortar. Plenty of good strong .mortar and an abundance !of Brick are what he needs.,, We do, not want lees corn, bnt we want more clover,' more shorts, morr bran, more peas, more skits-milk and more clover and grass to bring the higheit results.

Without attempting to give any exact rule a for- guidance, the following statements may not be out of place : During gestation breeding sows should bave only * amail allowance of corn, tbe feed being mainly that wl-ich will go to give her young good spund bodies. Such feed would be shorts (middlings or shipstoff), bran, skim-milk," buttermilk and clover. When suckling ber young, of course milk is one of the best articles at our command. When weaned the pigs may get, say, two parts of.; milk by weight, one part of shorts and one part of corn meal. , A run on good clover would go far, , to make a good frame. When nearing maturity the ration can be changed more and more to the carbonaceous, aud for the last two months when fattening the feed can be largely corn, if for fat pork, but if lean, juicy meat is detired, tbe muscle-making foods must be continued.