POTATOESIAS POULTRY FOOD, 183 



cess, that is, if we fed laying hens solely upon potatoes 

 (perhaps adding some barley-meal or maize-meal), they 

 would become inordinately fat, producing few, if any, eggs. 

 The proportion of heat-producing material is too great. 

 Then again, if the carbonaceous or fat-forming matter 

 were to be stinted or not allowed in sufficient quantity, 

 the heat of the body would be reduced, the reserves of 

 internal fat drawn upon, and the albuminous food would, 

 instead of going to produce eggs or flesh, be converted into 

 the other channel to supply ths deficiency. Thus, without 

 going further into the domain of chemistry, we may, with 

 the knowledge before us of the general uses of the two 

 broad classes of food constituents, discuss the practical 

 application of the science of feeding, most particularly 

 with regard to the potato. 



How to Feed Potatoes. The poultry-keeper must 

 always bear in mind that the potato is a fattening, heat- 

 producing food, and it must be used as such in combina- 

 tion with flesh-forming materials. It is cheap, easy to 

 prepare, and generally liked by all classes of poultry. The 

 farmer whose laying hens are running at liberty in the 

 winter time may use a larger proportion of potatoes in 

 the morning meal than the poultry-keeper whose layers 

 are enclosed in sheds or small runs, but the proportion of 

 potato to the other ingredients of the mixture must always 

 be regulated in accordance with the weather, no matter 

 under what conditions the hens are kept. A cheap and 

 good diet for layers that are at liberty may be composed 

 of equal parts by weight of potatoes and bran. The for- 

 mer must be boiled, and the latter mashed into them 

 while hot, the mixture being given warm. If the bran is 

 good, it will supply the nitrogenous matter in which the 

 tubers are deficient, and the diet will be a well-balanced 

 one. If the weather is very cold, some linseed meal, or a 

 little animal fat, may be added. 



Feeding: Confined Birds. In the case of layers that 



