44 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



wheat screenings, and then whole corn, is liberally fed; and when 

 the new corn comes they will be glad to help themselves from the 

 cob. The greatest objection to feeding corn on the cob at any 

 time is the untidy appearance of the cobs. The only way to 

 dispose of them is to pick them up, or rake them, and burn them; 

 sometimes we make a bonfire, but they do not then burn very 

 readily. Milk is a most desirable article of food, but should not 

 be given young chicks except in curds, or mixed with meal, as it 

 will stick up their feathers and so cause death. 



To prevent the old fowls and half -grown chickens from eating 

 the choice bits away from the Kttle ones, we use feeding boxes 

 made of foot boards six feet long and four feet wide, with slatted 

 tops of lath. These are placed on blocks of sufficient height to 

 allow the small fry to run under and exclude the taller ones. 



The second foe to the flock may be the cat, the rat, the weasel, 

 the skunk, or the fox; each of which must be treated with whip, 

 or trap, or poison, or gun, or dog. 



The next enemy will probably be diarrhea and gapes. Cooked 

 food and warmth will probably prevent the first; and plenty of 

 animal food, with dry warm coops, cure any tendency to the 

 second. We have noticed that this disease usually results from, 

 or at least follows, "a cold or long rain, and the first warning we 

 have of it is the sneezing; and in a strong, well -housed, well-fed 

 bird, the malady will apparently go no farther; but if the chicks 

 are already weakened by loss of blood from insects, by contami- 

 nated ground, or by improper feeding, they will surely succumb.* 



Pure water must at all times be within reach of every fowl and 

 chick; but such is their perversity that if possible to find "some- 

 thing stronger than pure water " they will eagerly drink it, to the 

 immediate danger of their lives. Shallow tin platters are their 

 first drinking cups, which are kept from overturning by a stone in 

 the middle. These must be scrubbed daily with a small whisk 

 broom, to insure cleanliness. For the older ones we have found a 

 common tin pan weighted with a stone as convenient as anything. 

 It is easily moved and cleaned, and in freezing weather can be 

 taken to the fire to thaw. 



* NoTB. The worm produciug the gapes is propagated iu the soil. I have grounds so 

 infected that it is impossible to raise one out of a dozen chicks, when allowed to range on 

 it. Adjoining fields are entirely free from the malady. 



