THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



To these few notes of explanatory intro- 

 duction, it IS necessary to add that the time 

 has not )-ct come to state definitely the position 

 which purely intensive poultry culture is likely 

 to take in this country, and much of what fol- 

 lows is the record of experiments rather than 

 matured conclusions ; but its development since 

 191 1 has been very remarkable, and that it has 

 a value to poultry-keepers, if wisely handled 

 and its limitations recognised, there would 

 seem to be little doubt. Especially is this 

 likely to be the case with the class of poultry- 

 keepers generally known as "backyarders," for 

 by its means, instead of a pen or two of birds, 

 each with their house and too often unsightly 

 and unsanitary run tainted by the droppings 

 of years, the new system admits of quite a 

 flock of layers being kept — and, moreover, 

 well kept — in comparatively little space. 



One of the foremost and most scientific ex- 

 ponents of intensive poultry culture in small 

 flocks in this country is Major 

 ^lu^™'"''""'^ P. H. Falkner, R.A.M.C, of 



Methods. , , , t- 1 1 t 



Loughton, Essex, who has spent 

 much time and thought in experiments con- 

 nected therewith, and especially as to economic 

 housing and feeding. A feature of this gen- 

 tleman's poultry plant, when we visited it, was 

 the material of his houses, which largely con- 

 sists of unbleached calico. The floor is of 

 wood, raised a few inches off the ground, sur- 

 mounted by a framework of wood nine inches 

 wide, on which is stretched wire netting ; three 

 sides of this frame are covered with calico, 

 but the front is left uncovered. The roof of 

 the house, which is adjustable, is a similar 

 combination of framework, netting and calico. 

 All the houses are made on the place, and the 

 woodwork and calico are treated with vege- 

 table tar mixed with tallow as a preservative. 

 The roof in addition to this for waterproofing 

 purposes receives a couple of coats of coal-tar, 

 and is then sanded before dry. 



These houses, from their lightness, are 

 easily moved, and yet most durable, and have 

 the advantage of considerably reducing initial 

 expenditure on appliances ; a house 6 ft. by 

 3 ft., to hold six birds, costing but los. 6d. 

 finished. A larger size, 6 ft. by 6 ft., to hold 

 twenty White Leghorn pullets, worked out at 

 about 25s., and repairs in case of damage are 

 easily effected. 



All the drinking water given to the birds 

 was, we noted, coloured with a solution of per- 

 manganate of potash as a precaution against 

 the introduction of disease. For the dry mash 

 used we noticed an ingenious device in the 

 substitution of a hanging calico trough for the 



ordinary wooden feeding box. It is found 

 that the yielding character of this material to 

 the pecks of the birds entails practically none 

 of the waste usually present with wooden 

 troughs. 



On the essentials of intensive poultry -keep- 

 ing ]\Iajor Falkner very kindly sent us the 

 following notes: 



" Firstly, what is it ? As the writer under- 

 stands intensive hen culture, it consists in 

 Major Falkner maintaining, and to some ex- 

 on the Intensive tent raising, poultry upon limited 

 System. areas of ground in such a 



manner that both the soil and the fowls 

 themselves are protected from certain atmo- 

 spheric influences. 



" With former intensification methods this 

 vital principle was, generally speaking, but 

 partially complied with ; and in those cases 

 where such was otherwise, the operator had 

 not the requisite training in the science of 

 animal feeding, etc., to maintain his stock in 

 that perfect health that is so necessary for 

 ' egg machines ' that were expected to lay at 

 great speed under highly artificial conditions. 



" In the majority of cases, however, the 

 culture was attempted by placing numerous 

 fowls upon a small and limited area of un- 

 covered soil — more or less permanently. Now 

 soil is one of Nature's greatest disinfectors ; it 

 contains within it myriads of small organisms 

 for the purpose of breaking up organic matter, 

 such as poultry manure, the presence of which 

 would provide an unhealthy environment for 

 the animal and vegetable kingdoms. When 

 organic matter is present in moderate amount, 

 these scavengers are efficient workers, but 

 once contamination reaches excess tliey are 

 literally poisoned, and suspend or cease their 

 efforts for good and all. In poultry manure, 

 for instance, there is nothing harmful in the 

 way of toxins or poisons to which we refer. 

 They appear only when sufficient moisture and 

 heat are available for the development of 

 putrefactive organisms, the life cycle of which 

 is associated with poisonous gases and toxins 

 fatal to the health of the soil germs them- 

 selves, or those poultry that have the misfor- 

 tune to be continuously subjected to such 

 insanitary surroundings. Not only do the 

 poultry inhale the noxious fumes rising with 

 the cool ground air as it expands from the 

 heat evolved in the putrefactive process, or 

 that actually forthcoming from the fowls 

 themselves, but they unavoidably consume 

 much fetid matter adherent to grain or other 

 food that is served. 



" W^ithin these few scientific facts lies the 



