1906.] THE NEW POULTRY CULTURE. I4I 



The very small addition made to this ration is a remarkable 

 feature of it. In the winter time about a quart of cracked 

 corn is thrown on the scratching litter on the floor of each 

 house, about the middle of the afternoon, when the wagon is 

 driven around to collect the eggs ; during the summer the beef 

 scrap is likely to become caked in his hoppers, so they will not 

 feed down, and for that reason Mr. Tillinghast stops filling the 

 scrap-hoppers about the first of May, and puts about a pint of 

 beef scraps in a feed trough in each house, at time of driving 

 around to collect the eggs. The birds have free range over the 

 fields and orchards in which the houses are located, and in sum- 

 mer can get abundance of green food ; in winter a supply of 

 vegetable food, of such roots as mangolds, turnips, sugar beets, 

 or refuse squashes, is fed out to them, and a wire-netting 

 pocket of cut clover, dry, is hung against the wall for them to 

 pick from — it is surprising what a quantity of this dry cut 

 clover the birds will eat, and it seems to fill a manifest want in 

 the balancing of the ration. 



The first question that arises is as to the profits when poul- 

 try is kept on this go-as-you-please plan, and unfortunately Mr. 

 Tillinghast does not give us figures of egg-yield to prove the 

 profits. It will be evident that the work of feeding and caring 

 for the flocks is reduced to the minimum ; and as Mr, Tilling- 

 hast is increasing his plant and stock each year he is evidently 

 satisfied with results. He has housing capacity for about three 

 thousand head and last winter had about that number of birds 

 on his place ; it is his intention to increase to eight to ten thou- 

 sand head and he claims that he can himself care for five thou- 

 sand head of layers housed and cared for upon his plan. 



We visited him in midwinter and saw some houses of pul- 

 lets in which the egg collection of the day was about fifty per 

 would feel was quite satisfactory. As illness had prevented his 

 cent, of the number of birds in each house, a result that anyone 

 getting out so great a number of chickens as he had intended, 

 he was carrying over a very large proportion of old stock, and 

 those old birds, while laying some eggs, were, as always, laying 

 scantily. At that visit we personally went around to more than 

 three-fourths of the houses, and saw but one bird of all the 

 great number we inspected that gave any indication of indispo- 

 sition ; that bird was sneezing, which indicated a slight cold. 

 We visited him again this summer, when the hens were molt- 



