Xo. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 293 



Take a mixLufe of iiu-al, bran, ground oats, etc., mix it with milk aiid 

 bake. A very little salt and some soda may be used. The result is 

 something- that may be kept a couple of days and does not need to 

 be mixed every time you feed. 



Wheat, cracked corn, millet, etc., are good feeds after the chick 

 is older. Begin to feed these after the chick is a week old. The 

 quantity may be gradually increased as the other feed is left out. 

 Never feed too much. A little and often is a good rule to follow 

 when the chicks are young. Feed five times a day when beginning. 

 After three weeks they may be fed only three times a day. « 



A hen will tui'n grass into greenbacks if she has the right kind 

 of backing on the part of her owner. She will turn conn into gold 

 if too much is not expected of her, and she is not given too much 

 corn to convert into the yellow metal. This is a growing industry 

 and people are going into and out of it as the years go by. Men 

 and women are seeking their level, and they find it sooner or later. 

 Some have to quit the business to find this level, but in the mean- 

 time others will double the capacity of the business. No costly 

 machinery is needed in carrying on the poultry business, and there 

 are no shares of stock that need watering. The hen is the machine, 

 and she needs but little water, and that should be fresh. Trusts 

 that have endeavored to conti'ol her output have gone a-glimmering, 

 and she has developed such powers of mixing animal and vegetable 

 matter that she has set even her owner to thinking along this line. 

 The one thing that stands most in the way of profitable poultry 

 production is the failure to fully understand the needs of the hen. 

 We are coming to it slowly, and each year a few more are added 

 to the ranks. The use of clover hay as part of the ration for hens 

 has become quite general. Almost everyone who pays attention 

 to a winter egg yield feeds more or less clover. Ground clover is 

 used as a part of the mixture for the mash. In some cases too 

 much is given in this way, in other instances not enough. When 

 the amount thus made use of is out of proportion it makes a mash 

 that is not enjoyed by the hens, and for this reason it is best to 

 limit the use of ground clover or clover meal to that amount 

 that seems most attractive to the hens. Have the mixture in the 

 mash so that the hens will enjoy it and eat it up readily, amd, in 

 addition to this, give them cut clover hay to pick and scratch 

 amongst so they will eat all the clover leaves they need. The 

 hay should be cut quite small in a cutting-box and thrown amongst 

 the straw for them to help themselves. Clover is admitted to be 

 most useful as an egg-producing food; at the same time it is only 

 a portion of a desirable ration. It is quite possible to give too 

 much of it, but not probable; more frequently they have too little 

 of such food, and for this reason we urge a plentiful supply of cut 

 clover hav as above stated. 



