EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 503 



feeding is repeated at least four times per day. An abundance of sharp 

 grit in the form of a coarse sand is always provided. Everything about 

 the brooder is kept scrupulously clean, especially in warm weather. 

 Fermenting foods are fatal to fowls. For this reason we have been 

 somewhat chary in the use of skim milk. In many cases when it has been 

 added to the ration diarrhoea has followed which could, as far as our 

 observations went, be ascribed to no other cause. For the first week, 

 therefore, we have given pure water alone rather than both water and 

 skim milk, which of course would be fed separately. 



COARSELY CRACKED VS. FINELY GROUND GRAIN FOR YOUNG CHICKENS. 



Eighty-six Barred Plymouth Rock and fourteen Golden Wyandotte 

 chickens were selected from a lot hatched in an incubator May 12, 1896. 

 The Barred Plymouth Rocks were from eggs purchased of a farmer living 

 near the College, the Golden Wyandottes from eggs from the College 

 poultry yard. These chickens were placed in a brooder and fed largely 

 on ci acker crumbs and the yolks of hard boiled eggs for the first ten 

 days. On the 22nd of May the chickens were divided into two pens of 

 fifty each, forty-three Barred Rocks and seven Wyandottes. On that 

 date Pen 1 weighed 5.7 and Pen 2, 5.8 pounds. The chickens were housed 

 in an outdoor double Superior brooder whose rated capacity was 120 

 chickens. The brooder was placed in the center of a yard fifteen feet 

 square which was also divided into two equal parts by a central fence. 

 For the latter part of May and early June artificial heat was applied for 

 the entire twenty-four hours, later during the night only. The chickens 

 were allowed to run out except on rainy or chilly days. 



The grain ration of both pens consisted of corn and wheat mixed in 

 equal proportions. Pen 1, had the grain in the form of coarsely cracked 

 corn mixed with an equal weight of clean wheat screenings free from 

 dirt and weed seeds and containing the small kernels only, the fine 

 meal was sifted from the cracked corn. Pen 2, had the corn ground into 

 a fine meal and mixed with the wheat ground into a coarse flour. Both 

 pens had the grain mixed with sweet skim milk for the morning and noon 

 feed. The quantity of skim milk used was alike in both pens, and just 

 sufficient to thoroughly moisten the meal without making it sloppy. The 

 two pens received equal quantities of oyster shells, finely cut green bone, 

 lettuce and cabbage. W T hile the chickens were small the grass in the 

 yard furnished sufficient vegetable matter; on the 5th of June they began 

 to receive lettuce at the rate of a pound and one-half per day per pen. 

 To this was added cabbage on the 26th of June. The feeding period con- 

 tinued seven weeks. In this time each pen ate 11.5 pounds of finely 

 crushed oyster shells, 14 pounds of cut green bone, 55.5 pounds of lettuce, 

 and 48 pounds of cabbage. Pen 1, ate 39.25 pounds of wheat screenings 

 and the same quantity of corn. Pen 2, ate a pound more of each. 



In the seven weeks, seven chickens in Pen 1, and six in Pen 2, died. 



At the close of this feeding period, on the 12th of July, the forty-three 

 chickens in Pen 1, weighed 49.8 and the forty-four in Pen 2, 59.5 pounds. 



So far in the experiment there was a difference of 9.6 pounds in gain on 

 the side of the fine ground grain. Out of this should be taken the weight 

 of one chicken or 1.3 pounds, leaving the net superiority in the gain 8.3 

 pounds. There were five more pullets in Pen. 1, than in Pen 2. 



