HOW TO GET EGGS IN WINTER 89 
It is useless to expect the hens to lay well if they 
are preyed upon by lice, so that a dust bath is very 
necessary, unless there is an earth floor into which 
the birds can burrow. A few upright boards may 
be fastened together to make a dusting place and 
earth or ashes with a little lime added given for 
the dusting material. Coal ashes are good except 
that they tend to rob the plumage of its luster. 
Hens like coal ashes and will eat many of them. 
Dry sand is often used, but the fowls seem to pre- 
fer heavier earth. It is well for the amateur to lay 
in a barrel of earth or road dust in the Fall to be 
used in the course of the Winter. Whenever hens 
are purchased, it is advisable to give them a thor- 
ough application of lice powder, dusting it with a 
generous hand into the fluff around the vent. 
If the fowls are slow in beginning to lay, a little 
green cut bone may help start them. It is doubt- 
ful whether the average amateur is justified in the 
purchase of a bone cutter, but in many large cities 
it is possible to buy green cut bone ready for use. 
Of course, it must be fed at once, as it will keep 
but a short time. 
Another plan is to try feeding a warm crumbly 
mash, containing a liberal amount of beef scraps or 
