go THE HOME POULTRY BOOK 
meat of any kind, once a day two or three times a 
week. A teaspoonful of mustard for each twenty- 
five hens may be included in this mash, which, for 
the rest, may be made of two parts bran, one part of 
ground oats and one part of corn meal. 
A laying hen is usually a singing hen. Likewise, 
the hens which are off the roost first in the morning 
and on the last at night may be put down pretty 
safely as being good layers. It pays the amateur 
to spend a little time with his flock; he can learn 
a lot in that way. When a hen is laying well, her 
comb is full and bright red. She may begin lay- 
ing before her comb gets its color after the molting 
period, however, but it will gradually become fiery. 
There should be enough nests so that the hens 
will not break the eggs by crowding. It is a gen- 
eral rule to allow one nest to five hens. If the 
amateur seeks to build up an egg-laying strain, he 
can make use of trap nests providing he has suf- 
ficient time so that he can give them the attention 
they require. These nests hold the hens which have 
laid until an attendant has released them and by 
banding a leg on each hen and keeping a record, it 
is possible to tell just how many eggs each hen lays 
