54 THE HOME POULTRY BOOK 
hens can have access to them at all times. To be 
sure, there is considerable disagreement about the 
necessity of grit when oyster shells are used, one 
noted expert declaring that months will pass with- 
out the hens touching the grit. At any rate, no 
harm will be done if the fowls are without it for 
a few weeks, but it is being on the safe side to keep 
a box in the house at all times. A box of charcoal 
is also recommended, for charcoal is an excellent 
absorbent and the poultry seems to.keep in better 
condition when it is always at hand. 
An egg is largely water. Without water hens 
will not lay eggs. There is a string to that state- 
ment, too, for they will do very well without water 
if they have snow to eat. Some poultry keepers 
warm water for their hens all Winter; others give 
them no water of any kind when they can get snow. 
No doubt the hens which have the warm water 
give their owner a few more eggs than the snow- 
fed birds, but whether enough more to compensate 
him for the labor of carrying the water depends 
upon how valuable his time is. 
Some rather foolish statements are made about 
the necessity of warming the water for hens in Win- 
ter. Weare told that cold water chills the digestive 
