134 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



seem to be using much milk there, the reply 

 was at once made, that unfortunately milk had 

 indeed been very short that year owing to want 

 of keep for the cows, and that their business had 

 suffered perceptibly in consequence. No attempt 

 is made to check the sourness, but rather the 

 contrary. At one of Mr. C. E. Brooke's farms 

 at Baynards, we found a very large iron tank 

 covered with loose boards, into which all the 

 skim milk was poured as received, and dipped 

 out as required, being kept " going " in this 

 way for weeks together without emptying. 

 We found the same plan on a smaller scale 

 elsewhere. The contents go into a sort of 

 curds and whey, which is well stirred up 

 together before being dipped out for use ; after 

 which the covering is replaced to keep out dirt, 

 rain, or sun. 



The dietetic effect is illustrated by some 

 experiments in feeding reported by the Hon. 

 A. H. Cathcart, who is himself rather prejudiced 

 against sour milk. He fed a certain number of 

 birds on Neve's fattening meal as used in 

 Sussex, and others on a mixture of sharps, oat- 

 meal, barley-meal, and chopped hay made from 

 tender grass alone, steamed for twelve hours. 

 He found the chickens fed on this made more 

 growth than those fed on the Neve's meal, at a 

 much less cost. He used the skim milk fresh, 

 and found that sour milk "scoured '' them. It 

 naturally would do so, being here given in 

 addition to laxative vegetable food ; but the 

 Sussex fatters use it instead, and unless a bird 

 goes wrong occasionally, so used it does not 

 scour. The experiment is certainly interesting 

 and suggestive, but it is doubtful if food mixed 

 with chopped hay could be fed by a machine. 

 We found, however, in many sheds, that the 

 consistency of the food was rather thicker than 

 described in the article above, more resembling 

 what we should describe as rather thin porridge. 



The two illustrations, reproduced from actual 

 photographs, of a cramming-shed and out-door 

 feeding cages, taken from different farms, will 

 illustrate what has been said by Mr. Brown 

 above, in regard to the rough and cheap 

 character of the cages, and also give a good idea 

 of many establishments themselves. Remark 

 was also made in the article upon two pat- 

 terns of pressing troughs which may be seen, 

 as shown in A and B, Fig. 67. A is by far the 

 more generally used in Sussex, while 

 Pressing B is often seen at demonstrations in 



Troughs. London, and has been undoubtedly 



copied from presses supplied by 

 the Baynards establishment, and with the idea 

 that it was supported by his authority. We 

 asked Mr. Brooke about this matter, and' he told 



us that the first being made with the vertical 

 back was purely accidental, but it had somehow 

 got copied on his place, and thence by others ; 

 but that he considered, if the question was put 

 to him, that A was undoubtedly the correct form. 

 He, however, thought the modern improve- 

 ment of an interval between the two boards, as 

 shown in the figure, of some real importance, 

 such a trough being better cleaned. Over the 

 backs a very thin board is used, which when 

 loaded with bricks on the top, bends somewhat 

 to accommodate slight differences in size. One 

 mistake we often found was the use of a board 

 too narrow, when the edge of the board makes 

 quite a dent or nick in the back, which if pro- 

 nounced will make a difference of 3d. in the 

 selling price of the bird. As we pointed out to 



Fig. 67 — Pressing Troughs. 



several, this is quite avoided by using a rather 

 broader board. 



We found considerably more difference than 

 we expected in the return realised for feathers. 

 Some small fatters dig all in or mi.x it with the 



manure, and very many use the 

 Feathers. quills and larger feathers in this 



manner, but those who have enough 

 sell the body feathers, which must be kept 

 separate for sale. The lowest price quoted to 

 us was 2jd. per lb., but, as was pointed out 

 to us, this was in September, when they are 

 more brittle and sell worst of all. Several 

 in a fairly large way made 3d. per lb. for their 

 body feathers, and the highest return we found 

 was from a " gentleman " farmer, who got 4d. 

 per lb. for his body feathers, and 2d. even fot 

 his quills ; but these last he explained to be 

 bought from him for one special purpose whose 

 demands were fully satisfied, and further market 

 for them could not be expected. What was of 

 interest in these last details, was the fact that a 

 man to whom small economies were probably 

 less important than to many, got a better 

 market for this by-product by superior energy 

 and intelligence. These prices are for average 

 coloured feathers. Very dark or black ones are 

 worth much less, and assorted light ones rather 

 more, while white ones kept apart fetch double, 

 or more. This appears one reason why some 

 Sussex breeders, as already intimated, have 

 shown a little preference for white fowls, besides 

 the fact that a white-feathered one plucks to a 

 much nicer-looking skin, and shows pin-feather 



