10 



morning and evening. The morning feed is fed the previous evening after 

 the hens have gone to roost, by sowing it on the htter and then turning 

 the Htter over ; the straw is now on top and the grain below, and when 

 the hens get up in the morning they start to dig out the grain, and are 

 kept busy all forenoon. At noon we feed mangels, cabbage or clover hay. 

 The night feed consists of the whole grain fed in troughs, and what the 

 birds do not eat is taken up. Rolled oats are kept constantly before the 

 hens in hoppers. Buttermilk only is given as drink." 



Fig. 2. — Farm poultry house amid filthy surroundings. 



Dearth of Scratching Material. 

 A very important factor contributing to the general experience of no 

 winter egg production is the lack of exercise. To ensure vigor and 

 health in hens — which conditions are absolutely essential to a maximum 

 egg yield — scratching material must be liberally supplied, and the birds 

 induced to exercise by scattering at least a part of their feed in a dry 

 litter of straw or leaves, which should be from six to ten inches deep. 

 Though there is usually an abundance of scratching material close at 

 hand, it may be said that practically all farmers, either through ignor- 

 ance or pronounced indifiference, fail to attend properly to this simple 

 but very important matter. 



