MANAGEMENT OF GRASS RUN. 



23 



runs will also need mowing tolerably often, 

 even while occupied ; since, although too over- 

 crowded for safe permanent occupation, this 

 does not mean that the grass is kept down. 

 Near the house it may be, but less so the 

 farther away ; and it must be mown whenever 

 it is long, else the fowls may get balls of long 

 tangled grass in their crops, and may eat blades 

 of it, part of which are contaminated. Such 

 fouled grass is simply poison. All this is 

 avoided, worms and insects made more accessible, 

 and the droppings more quickly washed into the 

 actual soil, to be absorbed, instead of adhering 

 to the grass, by proper mowing as required. 

 Keeping the grass constantly iiioiun short is the 

 one matter of greatest importance in the manage- 

 ment of limited grass runs. Grass cut during 

 full occupation should be burnt, and the ashes 

 mixed with the other manure. 



Regular cutting is of equal importance to 

 runs meant to be constantly occupied, and 

 which are therefore of larger size. Much grass 

 will then grow to waste, yet the conclusion 

 must not be drawn that so much space is not 

 needed ; long experience has shown that it is, 

 if the tenancy is to continue longer than five 

 to six years, up to which time a crowding of 

 considerably more than the hundred per acre 

 may generally be carried on without apparent 

 harm. But somewhere about that time Nemesis 

 comes, and often with no apparent warning. 



The reason of these results from over-crowd- 

 ing grass runs was demonstrated by Dr. Klein, 

 the well-known bacteriologist, who 

 Mortality in investigated the mortality upon a 



Over-crowded ,, \. c >' ,. r\ ■ \- \ 



H^^s poultry-farm at Urpmgton, where 



four hundred to five hundred birds 

 were habitually kept upon two acres of land, or 

 more than double the number above laid down. 

 The birds would be apparently well even thirty- 

 six hours before death ; then were attacked by 

 a thin yellow diarrhoea, became sluggish, and 

 in a day or so died. On post-mortem, the spleen 

 was found greatly enlarged and soft ; the liver 

 also enlarged and disorganised ; the coats of 

 the intestines considerably inflamed. The blood 

 was swarming with bacteria, which, being isolated 

 in pure cultures and cultivated in the usual way, 

 caused the disease in about five days when in- 

 oculated into healthy fowls. The bacteria also 

 swarmed in the evacuations, and it was found 

 that fowls given food polluted by these evacua- 

 tions were also attacked by the disease. All 

 becomes perfectly clear in the light of these 

 facts. Without discussing how the disease yfrj/ 

 arises — and many bacteriologists are now of 

 opinion that germs ordinarily innocent may by 

 changes in the surrounding circumstances become 



modified into deadly varieties, a process itself 

 more likely to take place under any unhealthy 

 conditions — it is onlj' necessary to suppose one 

 fowl acquiring or importing such disease, and 

 the more crowded the run, the more surely and 

 rapidly must one fowl after another pick up 

 the contamination in its food.* This is all the 

 more likely with rather long grass, which pre- 

 serves the evacuations from being washed into 

 the soil, while it is constantly eaten by the 

 occupants. Hence the inferiority in healthi- 

 ness of even a large run constantly occupied, to 

 a smaller one, even less than half the size, which 

 can be entirely vacated for some months, and 

 have a crop removed every year. 



In America, smaller grass runs appear to be 

 found more satisfactory than we have stated ; 



but the reasons are pretty plain. As 

 Climate and a rule they are necessarily vacated 

 Grass Run. during the winter, the fowls being 



reduced in numbers and confined in 

 sheds, owing to the severe climate and the snow. 

 The ground vacated is commonly ploughed up. 

 and sown with winter rye-grass, which thoroughly 

 sweetens the soil and consumes the manure by 

 a regular crop yearly. The soils, again, are very 

 generally somewhat light and sandy, which 

 carries out these natural processes more rapidly. 

 Lastly, the climate as a whole is dry, both in 

 summer and winter. The enormous difference 

 this makes we may see by considering the case 

 of a guano island, where the sea-fowl have lived 

 for generations upon ground actually composed 

 of their own evacuations. These are dried up 

 in the sun and dry air, and cease to exhale 

 poison in that desiccated state. In England, all 

 is more or less moist, if not wet, which means 

 active pollution in every way, air as well as 

 ground. If these climatic differences are con- 

 sidered, it will be easily seen that methods 

 excellent in the States and Canada and worked 

 with success there are not always practicable in 

 Great Britain. 



Though a very small plot of grass cannot 

 bear permanent tenancy ; it may, however, be of 

 considerable use. A few weeks on such a plot 

 will freshen up two or three exhibition fowls 

 considerably, or will keep a cockerel, with one 

 companion or not, in high condition for some 

 time. And at all times of the year it will be 

 useful to grozii grass, the best of all green food, 

 and especially to be cut into fine green chaff for 

 young chickens as described farther on. For 

 mere health, a grass run is not at all necessary, 

 provided proper care be bestowed on cleanliness 



* As mentioned elsewhere, Dr. Klein fortunately discovered 

 that an anti-toxin could be prepared from the germs, which pre' 

 vented birds inoculated with it from being attacked. 



