546 Journal of Agriculture. [9 Sept., 1907. 



should be placed and the average weight of chicken they will produce 

 when crossed are as follow: — 



The foregoing is based on the results of experiments carried out by 

 me last .season. 



It should be distinctly understood that Indian Game hens are very 

 poor layers ; they should therefore not be used unless there is a difficulty 

 in securing the other breeds enumerated. One of the main factors in farming 

 poultry is to secure stamina, without which there is sure to be a loss at 

 the end of the season. The above breeds embrace all those characteristics 

 which go to produce the desired results. Always aim to reduce feather 

 and remember that feathers require feed, and that there is no pavable 

 market for feathers, whereas there is always one for good flesh. 



Food to Produce White Flesh. 



Chickens should not be fed until quite 24 hours after hatching. Then 

 give hard-boiled egg (shell included) chopped up finely with double the 

 Muantity of breadcrumbs, every two hours for the first few days. Give a 

 little and often, but on no account should any be left as sour food is 

 disastrous to young chicks. When a week old, change the diet to coarse 

 oatmeal and broken biscuits, slightly moistened with sweet milk — avoid 

 making it pastv ; add a little charcoal and very finely pulped raw onion. 

 It is also very necessary to place on .some clean boards ample coarse sand, 

 line gravel and a very small quantity of pure bone meal, as these are 

 most essential to the chicken's proper development, i.e., to make bone and 

 to keep the gizzard in a vigorous condition. Digestive disorders of all 

 things should be guarded against ; therefore avoid giving green bone as 

 there are more chickens killed by this than any other thing that I know of. 



At my own place where I conduct experiments many people, on seeing 

 the healthy, well -feathered, young chicks, have asked wdiat food I use. I 

 have used a variety of grains, and my experience is that it is not so much 

 what the food is as how it is supplied, providing it contains the necessary 

 constituents. In nature, small seeds, insects and grass furnish food for 

 <"hickens. These are most abundant in the spring and summer months, 

 and it is at this time that chickens thrive. To secure the best results, foods 

 simulating both the composition and the mechanical character of these 

 should be supplied. For instance, in the summer the tips of grass are 

 > oung and tender and are easily broken by the chickens. For green stuff 

 to be easily assimilable, some plant should be supplied which may be 

 easily broken. Hanging a head of lettuce in the brooder by a string will 

 furnish the desired want and be greedily taken by the chicks. Sifting 

 the cracked grain scraps and cracked wheat through sieves, so as to remove 

 lioth the meal and larger pieces, gives favorable results. Millet seeds, 

 hemp seeds, rolled oats, and other grains of this character are greedily 

 eaten and well digested. 



