66 Poultry that Pay a Profit. 



lieved to be injurious to the health of the fowls and to impart 

 a bad flavor to the eggs. 



A great deal has been said and written of late in favor of 

 feeding clover-hay to laying hens, with the claim for it that it 

 will increase the egg-yield and greatly cheapen the cost of 

 feeding. While I do not dispute the claim that clover-hay 

 contains, to a large extent, the elements necessary for the con- 

 struction of the egg, my experience in feeding it for the last 

 three years is that it will never take a large part in feeding, 

 especially where a large production of eggs is desired, because, 

 even when chopped fine and scalded, it is too bulky to allow 

 hens to eat and assimilate enough of it to keep up even an 

 ordinary yield of eggs. I consider it valuable as hen-food 

 only when fed to hens that have become fat and inactive from 

 overfeeding and lack of exercise ; then feeding it in part for 

 the grain lightens the food without reducing the bulk and 

 therefore improves the general tone and health of the fowls. 

 I find that with my hens when in good laying condition and 

 getting a daily feed of green or succulent food, I can not af- 

 ford to crowd out the heavier feed of grain for the purpose of 

 compelling them to eat so bulky a food as clover-hay ; espe- 

 cially is this so during the season when they are doing their 

 heaviest laying, at which time I have abandoned the feeding 

 of it altogether ; but I feed it lightly during moulting and 

 when they are closely confined in winter. My object in feed- 

 ing green food is to improve and keep in order the digestive 

 organs, thereby increasing their power to assimilate more of 

 the heavier foods which are necessary for a large egg-yield. 



Although my experience of late has been principally with 

 the Leghorns, I see no reason why the heavy breeds should 

 not be fed and handled in the same way. Any hen, large or 

 small, that has to work for a good portion of her food will 

 keep in good health and not get overfed, unless the food is too 

 heavy and fattening, or the hen a poor layer. My experience 

 in crossing has convinced me that there is nothing to be gained 

 in promoting egg-production in that direction; while a first 



