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feeding- of fowls. It is used whole, ground, and cracked, the meal 

 being used principally in the mash foods. Cracked corn is used largely 

 for young chicks and fowls when scattered in the litter. The whole 

 corn is rather large and conspicuous; and, when in the litter, does not 

 give enough exercise. I am of the opinion that corn can be used in 

 portions of Ontario, where it is grown extensively, much more freely 

 than it has been heretofore. Corn is a heating and fattening food, and 

 is, therefore, best adapted for winter use. It is considered by many, 

 when fed in large quantity, to make the hens fat; yet it is used 

 extensively by many progressive poultrymen with little or no evil effects. 



Oats should be a first-class food for poultry ; but, owing to the 

 large percentage of hull, they are not relished by chickens, and for 

 this reason they are somewhat indigestible. When ground they are 

 used pretty freely in mash food ; also the rolled and granulated oat- 

 meals are used for feeding young chicks. The ground oat, without 

 the hull, is used extensively for fattening fowl. We have found that 

 oats soaked in water for 24 hours increases their palatibility. 



Barley, either whole or ground, is very good. It has rather too 

 much hull, but otherwise it is a satisfactory food. It is considered by 

 many to be next to wheat in point of value. 



Buckwheat is very popular as an egg-producer in districts where 

 it is grown extensively. Some difficulty is at times experienced when 

 first feeding it to fowls in getting them to eat it, but this is usually 

 overcome in a day or so, if other feeds are withheld. Boiling the buck- 

 wheat will sometimes start the birds to eat it. After the birds once 

 get accustomed to its appearance, it is much relished by them. Ground 

 buckwheat is an excellent food to use in a fattening ration. It is 

 somewhat like corn in its fattening properties and therefore it is bet- 

 ter for winter than summer use. 



Shorts and wheat bran are both used extensively in making mashes, 

 or soft foods. They are excellent foods to use in maintaining the 

 health of the flock. 



Dry Feeding. 



The tendency at the present time is to feed dry grain and to use 

 no wet mash foods. It has been claimed by some writers that mash 

 foods, while tending to force growth, and possibly egg production, 

 does not tend to produce good eggs for hatching purposes ; that is to 

 say, the mash is more or less of a forcing food. In the production of 

 eggs, the number produced is probably as large if not larger where mashes 

 are used, but the hatchability of the eggs is not as high. During the 

 last year or two we have not fed very many mashes to our breeding 

 birds, but have fed in place sprouted grain. So far as we can see at 

 the present time the sprouting does not improve the feeding qualities 

 of the grain very much, with the exception of oats. The palatability 

 of oats is increased considerably. We have made the oats equally as 

 palatable by soaking them in warm water about six hours. At the 

 present time our plan of feeding is to feed whole grain in the litter 



