ALFALFA GOLD BONDS
The following article on Hogs and Alfalfa from The Dakota Farmer, of Aberdeen, S. I)., to whom we are
indebted for the use of the accompanying cuts, gives facts ami figures of much interest to our renins.
By Alfred Wen. Brown Co., S. D.
The following Is a itatrment of
the sales of Duroc Jersey red hos
grown In an alfalfa pasture on the
Wen z farm this season:
1 fat sow, 316 lb. 7.75, $ 24.41
2 young boars 30.26
16 young sows, 2192 lbs., Iff 10.00
$21!20
18 Bhoats, 3004 lbs., $7.75, 232.81
9 Bhoats, 1470 lbs., ff? 7-60, 111.72
17 Bhoats, 2400 lbB., SI $7.40, 117.60
14 shoats, 2269 lbs., fft $7.25, 164.60
$960.49
Most of the pigs were farrowed in
April, a few in March and May. The
average size of the litters was 9.6,
while the average number raised per
litter was 7.7. Well founded fears
of lower prices drove them to mar
ket early, and the average age when
sold was 6 months. The average
weight was 156.17 pounds, the aver
age price was $12.48 per head. This
foots up a mighty good return on a
capital of $186.00, the value of 11
brood animals at the end of last sea
Bon. The pigs, with the help of the
pasture, have well earned the name,
"Alfalfa Gold Bonds.' The 10 bows
have had nearly eight coupons eadi
to clip in one year, good for $12.48
apiece, making a total of $96.06 in
coupons from a bond with the face
value of $16.60.
These hogs picked probably half
their feed from 9 acres of alfalfa.
The following facts will show why
one-half seems a fair and conserva
tive estimate. The pigs were not
pushed with grain and mill feed;
rather were they left as much as pos
sible to the alfalfa. The experiment
was carried on not to grow a huge
hog irrespective of cost, but to build
a good market hog at the lowest ex
pense, making alfalfa bear the brunt
of the work. Not how heavy an an
imal but how wide a margin of profit
on capital Invested in brood sows
and grain feeds was the end sought,
though weight was not lost sight of.
The amount of feed given the sows
was cut down radically when they
were turned from the farrowing pen
into the pasturu, and, after weaning
time, no feed other than alfalfa was
the rule. Besides, all the sows but
one are being held over and so do
not figure In the proceeds from sales,
except indirectly as they nourished
the growing pigs. Hut they had the
bulk of their living from May to Oct
ober from this same pasture. The
young hows, sold at 10 cents, were
turned off before fattening for mar
ket commenced, hence the larger
share of their weight mr-t be cred
ited to the alfalfa. In the spring the
little pigs lost no time In lining to
forage; they were at It as soon as
they could get to It. Daylight, some
times 4 o'clock in the morning, found
them grazing. If exmme heat kept
them in the shade durli.g the aft-r-noon,
they would make up for lost
time by working in the giass till 9
or 10 o'clock at night. Thfly were
fed soaked and ground corn in a
separate pen, but even before being
weaned they did not come around for
feed till late in the forenoon, when
they were given a light ration. At
night they had more, but they never
displayed the wild squealing eager
ness for feed so common In yard fed
hogs. After being turned Into a
- j -. . "
i ft V M '' ' '
W. H. Wenz Entertaining the Sire of the Duroc Pigs that Converted Alfalfa into Gold Bonds.
field of corn, part of which was
choice sweet corn, they still kept
coming back to the alfalfa. This was
a remarkable demonstration of their
fondness for it, while their thrlf ti
neas and quick growth showed that
their taste had a good physiological
basis. They were in prima physical
condition when they went into the
yard for high feeding, and only a
few weeks of this was necessary to
put on the lard finish. Hog experts
who have seen the herd and noted
the conditions under which the pork
has been grown agree that one-half
is not too high an estimate of feed
to credit the alfalfa. Some think it
should be higher. The hogs, up to
one-half their value, can fairly be
considered the crop of the alfalfa '
land.
One-half the Bales, $960.49, is f
$480.25. In addition, the pasture
yielded 84 tons of hay, worth
$127.50, making a total of $607.75,
produced in pork and hay on 9 ,
acres of land and produced, too,
without turning over a hand, as far
as the land was concerned, except
to gather the hay. $63.14 from each
and every acre; better than six per
cent on a valuation of $1,000 per
acre no wonder alfalfa land Is said
to be worth $100 per acre.
There are many advantages In
raising hogs on alfalfa. It Is easier
for the farmer and better for the
hogs thrn yard feeding. The pork
ers do a good share of the work,
thus saving the farmer many chores
and getting exercise for themselves
aB well Then there is no worry
about a balanced ration; the growing
alfalfa comes very close to furnish
ing that, and corn, usually the cheap
est and easiest feed to put Into the
trough, can be given freely in addi
tion. Corn alone will not do for
growing pigs, but can be fed with
splendid results when they are rustl
ing on the alfalfa. Their free act
ive life combined with the fact that
the bulk of their nourishment is In
I the form of this succulent forage
! prevents the corn from having an un
' healthful or unduly fattening effect.
' The hog Is nalurully a ranging and
! grazing animal, and the more natur
ally he lives the healthier and thrift
ier he will be. It is easier and bet
ter to let him hunt up most of his
own living and to throw him over
some corn twice a day than it is to
pamper him like a spoiled youngster
kept close to the house. The same
thing Is true in winter feeding of
brood animals, the hay then taking
the place of growing plants. Alfalfa
and corn will make swine grow like
work and worry to the owner.
Another advantage Is economy.
There is an old saying that a ton of
alfalfa is equivalent to a ton of bran.
Which 1b cheaper, to puy $20 per
ton for the bran and go to the ex
pense of hauling It, or, at a cost of
not to exceed $7.60 per acre for
seed and labor, to establish a per
manent sod which will without fur
ther attention produce every year
from 1H to 4 tons of bran per acre
that the pigs can go out and gather
for themselves? Consumers com
plain of the high price of pork and
often aasail the "trust". Yard feed
ers retort that at the prices obtain
ing for feed during the past few
years they must get a good figure
from the butchers or go out of busi
ness. The alfalfa feeder is under no
such constraint. He is producing a
good Bhare of the food very cheaply
and turning It into pork at Blight ex
pense. When high prices prevail he
Is that much ahead, and he can still
make good interest when the market
is on a level actually below the cost
of production to the yard feeder,
hook at It In another way. Joseph
E. Wing, perhaps our greatest auth
ority on alfalfa, says that the hay is
worth $15 per ton to the feeder. The
amount of green forage necessary
to make a ton of the hay Is surely
worth no less. Grow It and let the
pigs pick from $20 to $60 worth of
feed from every acre without a cent
of expense other than interest on
the value of land and fence. Where
can you find anything to equal it?
Try to make your land produce In
some other crop that much cash
wiih enough more to cover expenses
of production. Only by means oi In
tensive cultivation and hard labor
can it be done.
Hut the (Unci profits are not all.
There are indirect benefits as well
which help to Increase the returns
from the land. A large herd of hogs
scatter considerable manure over the
pasture. Thus they fertilize the soil
they are picking part of their living
from, and the manure is applied be
fore it leaches or burns, and without
the aid of pitchfork or spreader. Al
falfa itself la a fertilizer and it im
proves the soil by means of both
chemical and mechanical action. The
plants not only add nitrogen, to the
plant food supply, but the enormous
roots in their burrowing and crowd
ing act as subsoiler. After the sod
is turned, the dying roots become
rich storehouses of humus and nitro
gen, deep reservoirs to catch and
hold the falling rains. Alfalfa Is un
selfish; in its life it gives far more
than it takes and in its death it
leaves a splendid heritage in fertil-
Nebraska Land & AutoCo.
J. C. McCorkle, Mgr
GARAGE IN McCORKLE BLOCK
Link Lowry, Supt of Garage
We hat lit the fOVt cars and will sell you one
for list price. Will store ami keep; furnish gas
and lubricating oil; $15.00 per month; you run as
much as you desire. Storage for cars, $5.00 per
month. We sell all best brands of oil from 25 to
50 lower than other places.
fOtt cars are the most popular car on the
market and every piece in them is guaranteed by
the company during the life of the car. See us
before buying.
Only garage In western Nebraska
open day and night
Ity to the soil, hand growing this
marvelous plant is a hank paying
heavy Interest and at the same tlmo
increasing the principal, and this
with no risk to the investor.
There are other patches of alfalfa
on it, and more will be planted from
year to year. Should the unlikely
happen and the hogs ruin the Bod,
they will be turned Into another pas
ture of the same kind. Then the
first will be plowed up the finest
corn land In the county. That Is the
proposed rotation anyway, swine
mown alfalfa followed by corn and
wheat. Permanent Improvement of
the farm Is the end sought, and the
experience above related shows this
possible and profitable by utilizing
the humble hog and giving him a
chance to lead the simple life, rang
ing in freedom and content over
fields of glorious alfalfa.
But someone says, "You will hurt
and perhaps kill the grass by pas
turing It." The experience on this
farm does not support the conten
tion, hast year 3 hogs ran on 1V4
acres of yearold sod till snow, chew
ed it off level with the ground, and
succeeded In killing a few square
rods In one corner where they spent
most of their time when not grazing.
This year 85 hogs ran on 9 acres,
nil but the original l'i acres of
which was only a year old, the plants
hardly established, and it does not
appei r that It Is Injured. The sod
has go.'.e Into the winter In as thrifty
condition as one could wish. This
has been an extreme test, especially
in a season like the one just past
unnatural warmth in very early
spring giving plants a premature
start, later two killing frosts, one of
which cut down the alfalfa after it
had attained a height of 8 Inches,
and a growing season probably the
driest we have ever had. The fact
Is, the returns of $63.14 per acre are
not to be considered larue. The pas
ture in a normal year when the
plants have become established will
make a better showing, hast year
the alfalfa was credited with having
produced only one-third the feed for
the 35 hogs, as they were kept con
siderably later into the winter. Other
wise figuring the returns on the same
basis as this year, the l1 acres of
alfalfa produced In pork and hay at
the rate of $119.28 per acre.
But admit that pasturing might In
time kill out the alfalfa. Let it. 9
acres is only a small part of 160,
and thin combination of hogs and al
falfa is not alone for a big check
representing much profit on market
day, but also for a better and more
productive farm.
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The Wen Group of 1910 Pigs that Proved that Alfalfa is the King of Forage Plants for Swine.
