FOOD FOR FATTENING. 



by machine are to see that the tongue is held 

 down, otherwise it might be torn by the in- 

 sertion of the tube ; that the neck is straight, 

 or the pressure of the tube against one of the 

 rings of the vertebral column would break it ; 

 and that too much food is not given. Under 

 such a system it is, of course, impossible to 

 treat each bird with the same nicety as is the 

 case with hand cramming. 



" In France machine cramming has not been 

 carried out to the same extent as in this country, 

 but there is much more done of it than was 

 formerly the case. Some of the French machines, 

 however, differ distinctly from those 

 French described above, in that liquid food 



Machines. is chiefly employed. One of these, 

 made by Monsieur J. Phillippe of 

 Houdan, has a long tube attached to it, at the 

 end of which is a spring tap with a long brass 

 spout. The food is about the consistency of 

 very thin cream, and flows quite easily. The 

 fowls are not removed from the cages, but in 

 turn the operator takes hold of each bird, inserts 

 the tube into the throat pretty much in the same 

 way as already mentioned, and by pressing the 

 spring allows the food to flow into the crop. 

 Strange though it may seem, this system is no 

 more speedy than by the Hearson or Neve 

 crammers. Another form is that made by 

 Monsieur Voitellier. He has a rod running 

 the entire length of and above the cages, and 

 upon this rod is hung a vessel containing several 

 quarts of liquid food. The vessel is hung upon 

 the rod by means of a wheel, so that it moves 

 about freely. In the bottom of the food re- 

 servoir is a nozzle and indiarubber tube, at the 

 end of which latter there is fitted a spring nozzle 

 or tap similar to that just named. By means of 

 this the operator can move about freely from one 

 cage to another. Other forms of machines have 

 been adopted in France, but these are the latest, 

 and are chiefly employed. Some years ago a 

 huge revolving cage was introduced by one of 

 the French makers, and was exhibited at one of 

 the early Dairy Shows, where it awakened con- 

 siderable interest. Two of these are still, I 

 believe, in use at the Jardin d'Acclimatation, 

 Paris. But although accommodating 2 lo birds, 

 the cost (upwards of ^loo) precludes their 

 general use, even if they offered any advantage, 

 which is questionable. 



" The food employed is very important in 

 connection with the fattening of poultry, and it 

 will be seen in all cases that what is commonly 

 called soft food is used : that is, meal prepared 

 by mixing with some liquid into the consistency 

 necessary, according to the system adopted. 

 The reason for the use of meal is that when 



so prepared it is much more easily digested 

 than whole grain. This is so in any case 



but grain is given to fowls that have 

 The Food. the opportunity of exercise, because 



it lasts longer and is more sustain- 

 ing than the soft food. But to ensure successful 

 fattening it is essential that the birds shall be 

 kept in strict confinement, otherwise they would 

 not increase in weight nearly so rapidly, and 

 thus the organs of the body are not in the con- 

 dition to enable rapid assimilation of hard grain. 

 There is a great amount of difference in the 

 meals employed. In England the food chiefly 

 used for the purpose of fattening is what we call 

 ground oats; in Belgium they use generally 

 buckwheat-meal ; and in France buckwheat- 

 meal and barley-meal, with a small proportion 

 of Indian-meal in some districts. There is no 

 question that Indian-meal adds greatly to the 

 bulk of a bird put up for fattening, but it 

 forms yellow oily fat, which is very wasteful in 

 cooking; and a bird fatted in this way is never 

 so nice in appearance as when the other foods 

 named are employed. 



" All the meals mentioned above are good 

 for the purpose, but we think that ground oats 

 stand first. These contain nearly 6 per cent, of 

 fat and a considerable amount of phosphates, 

 (see Analyses, p. 19), which have an influence in 



making the flesh white, or bleaching 

 Ground Oats, it, and at the same time giving it 



a good flavour. These ground oats 

 are prepared specially for the purpose, and 

 several millers in the district around Tonbridge 

 lay themselves out specially for the preparation 

 of the meal. Up to the present time few makers 

 in any other part of the country seem to have 

 been able to prepare ground oats equal to those 

 produced in Kent and Sussex. I remember many 

 years ago trying to grind oats as good as those 

 produced in the south of England. We used 

 the very finest Scotch oats that could be obtained, 

 and yet it seemed impossible to secure meal of 

 the desired fineness. Moreover, we could not 

 grind the husks, and therefore they were useless 

 for the purpose. The explanation is partly 

 found in the fact that the Kentish millers use 

 high grade stones, which are cut very sharp and 

 run very low ; hence the danger of fire is always 

 greater, and the speed at which they can be run 

 is less than is necessary for the grinding of other 

 grains. But the chief point is in the class of 

 oats employed. English and Scotch oats, 

 though probably better than any kind met with 

 in the world for the making of oatmeal, contain 

 a considerable proportion of moisture, and thus 

 they clog the stones. Therefore the small, 

 hard, plump, fine-skinned Russian oats are used, 



