iio Feeding tlie Hen. 



of food before them at all times, they will seldom become 

 overfat, on account of their sprightly and roving disposition, 

 and will convert a large amount of food into quantities of 

 eggs ; but with the large breeds this method of feeding would 

 produce over-fatness. The consequent sluggishness of body 

 and egg-organs would cooperate with their natural broodiness 

 to reduce the egg-yield. The quantity fed to the large breeds 

 should be regulated so as to keep the birds down to a business 

 weight. Some strains of the heavier fowls make large egg- 

 records, and it is reasonable to suppose that careful selection, 

 breeding and feeding for eggs will make good layers of almost 

 any variety. In case of large breeds, an increase of green 

 food might dilute the concentrated ration, and tend to keep 

 the birds in a business condition. ARTHUR D. WARNER. 



Cut Bones for Feeding. Poultry-keepers have known for 

 more than a century that the substances^found in bones were 

 good for poultry to eat. The great trouble was that these 

 substances were locked up in such forms that the hens could 

 not touch them. Various schemes were tried to unlock this 

 food. The bones were baked in the oven or roasted in the 

 fire and the resulting bone-ash was mixed with the grain. 

 With a sledge and a big stone the boys frequently smashed 

 up the smaller bones. But it soon became apparent that in 

 burning the best part of the bones was driven away, while 

 there were too many broken fingers as a result of the other 

 process. The bone-mill finally came and brought relief, but 

 that handles only dry bones. It soon became apparent that 

 fresh or green bones, with meat and gristle, must lose much of 

 their nutriment before they were dry enough to grind. The 

 result was that a bone-cutter was perfected to reduce bone, 

 meat and gristle to a form suitable for hens to utilize. This 

 machine promises to revolutionize poultry-feeding. It will 

 provide a cheap and excellent food making doubly valuable 

 what was formerly considered a waste product. In almost 

 every neighborhood one can find a cheap supply of green 

 bones. As to the merits of cut bone as a poultry-food all are 



