CHOU MOELLIER.

Southland Times, Issue 19395, 8 November 1924, Page 12 (Supplement)

CHOU MOELLIER.

INVALUABLE FODDER FOR PIGS. The prolific yield of this plant, apart from its superfine food values, wins it a place on every modern pig farm, or any farm where pigs are kept. Sown during October or early in November, it is ready for grazing early in February, and may be grazed to July if weather conditions are favourable. Although a payable crop for every pig-owner, it is of especial value to those clearing rough fern country with the help of pigs. On these lands where there are tablelands suitable and capable of growing reasonable crops of chou moellier, the latter can very materially assist in the clearing of the fern clad hills. By supplementing the fern roots with this fodder, whilst the pigs are rooting up the fern, the location is quickly brought to the stage when implements such as discs or tine harrows can be employed, with the object of sowing down the area in ryegrass and clovers. The enormous yield of succulent green leaves and marrow stems of chou moellier, and the case with which it may be cut and fed to the pigs when they are working out the fern roots, together with the fact that it is available for so long a period, from early autumn until the following spring, renders the plant almost indispensable, and certainly most valuable for this purpose of raising pigs and clearing up permanently what would, in ordinary circumstances, be considered waste portions of the farm. Patches should be sown in rotation until the end of January, so that the pigs fiiay be shifted from one brake to another alternately, when grazed on the plant alone. Working on such a system of feeding, one acre of chou moellier would suffice for six sows and their progeny during the life of the crop. In sowing the seed it will be found that 4 lb seed per acre, in drills about 30in apart, manured with special chou moellier manure will be quite satisfactory. Farmers who contemplate taking up pig breeding as a side-line or in conjunction with dairying activities, would be well advised to start right by carefully selecting their gilts from littres of nine, 10, 12, or more, as gilts from small litters usualy turn out indifferent breeding animals. If a young sow has nine “teats” on each side of her body, and providing that they are all well placed and perfect, she will invariably produce and rear a large litter in a satisfactory manner.