20 THE POULTRY DOCTOR. 







salt should be given them is an open question. In salt- 

 ing food the danger is in excess. Too much salt for 

 man or beast will result in sickness, and very bad 

 sickness at that. Salt in large quantities seems to be 

 fatal to poultry, but may safely be used to season the 

 food. 



What the wash-bowl or bath-tub is to man, a dust 

 pile, dust-box or dust in some shape is to the hen. It 

 doesn't look like a very cleanly way of performing the 

 toilet, but it is her way, and chicken raisers will do 

 well to see that the dust-bath is provided in some shape. 

 It is supposed that this bath is a means of ridding the 

 feathers of lice ; mixing a little insect powder with the 

 dust will aid in this. Some authorities prefer fine sand 

 to dust. If the hens will use it, sand seems better than 

 dust. Fine ashes are also recommended. 



Let the chickens get at corn-stalks in winter, occa- 

 sionally ; it helps in the assimilation of food. Scalded 

 clover hay, however, is better and furnishes an excel- 

 lent substitute for green food, but it must be finely 

 chopped. 



Onions chopped up are eagerly eaten by fowls, and 

 are excellent for their health, especially if their eyes are 

 not in good condition. 



Dried tobacco leaves in the nest of a setting hen keeps 



