572 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



culty whatever in raising them. They should be fed as early as possible in the morning, and 

 should have a variety of food, and only as much as they will eat up clean. It is a good plan to 

 give them as a soft food for breakfast, mashed potatoes mixed crumblingly with Indian meal. 

 In two or three hours they should be fed again, and now they should have fine cracked corn, 

 or crumbled Indian meal cake (made by stirring up Indian meal with boiling water and a 

 little salt and then baked in an oven), and wheat or wheat screenings. It will soon be found 

 that they have a partiality for some one food, and will pick out the choice morsels, leaving 

 everything else untouched. In order that they may have the greatest variety of food, and 

 consequently consume the greatest quantity, instead of mixing their food, I feed them at 

 each meal first with the article of diet that they least like, and when they refuse to eat any 

 more I give them something else, finishing off with their favorite. The point to be aimed at 

 is to induce the young birds to consume the greatest possible amount of food, by which 

 means they grow and mature very rapidly, and I know of no better way of accomplishing 

 this than that I have described. At night they should have all they will eat of cracked corn 

 and other hard grains, soaked in water, so that their digestive organs may be well supplied 

 until morning. 



The water vessels during the daytime should always be kept well supplied with pure, 

 clean water; nothing is more likely to create disease among chickens than filthy, impure 

 water, and too much care cannot be exercised in this direction. The ground under the 

 hovers should always be cleaned and renewed every morning; a supply of ground bone 

 should always be accessible to the chickens, and once or twice a week they should have grass, 

 clover, or other green food chopped fine when the chicks are small, and in the natural state 

 when they are a few weeks old. 



It is a good plan to sow oats in frames in the chicken house for the winter supply of the 

 chicks, but cabbage chopped fine is about as acceptable. I have been accustomed to feeding 

 the very young birds with cabbage and turnips, chopped fine and mixed together, and can 

 recommend the practice as a successful one. After the chicks are a few weeks old I throw 

 these vegetables to them whole; the time it takes for a flock to tear to pieces and devour a 

 whole cabbage is surprisingly short. 



The system of management that I have described has proved so successful with me that 

 I can without hesitation recommend it to others ; as by it I have absolutely no difficulty in rear, 

 ing chickens artificially, and that, too, in our most inclement seasons.&quot; 



The brooders should have fine sand or ashes cover the ground under the brooders an 

 inch deep, and this should be frequently changed in order to keep the surroundings as clean 

 as possible. Cleanliness in their runs is likewise equally essential. The brooder, if neglected, 

 is liable to get infected with vermin. To prevent this, dust sulphur or pyrethrum powder 

 frequently into it. The true secret of success in raising chickens artificially may be con 

 densed into a few words, viz., warmth, ventilation, cleanliness, and constant feeding, with 

 a variety of suitable kinds of food. Let them also have the warm sunshine to lie and run 

 in. Never permit the little things to go hungry, or to be neglected in any way; indifferent 

 care will never prove profitable in poultry raising, and unless a person is willing to give his 

 attention to it, he had better never undertake the business. 



Advantages of Artificial Hatching. While we do not believe any artificial 

 means of hatching eggs will be found preferable to the old-time method of the &quot;setting hen&quot; 

 when a small number of eggs are to be hatched, still where large numbers of chicks are to 

 be raised, some advantages may be gained by the use of the incubator. By this means early 

 chickens for the market and show-room may be procured; in fact, chickens may be hatched 

 at any time during the winter, or at any time and all seasons of the year, as hens will lay 

 well, when they will not always sit when desired; besides, when incubators are used, the 

 hens that would be employed in hatching would be profitably engaged in supplying eggs. With 



