250 BOARD OF AGRICULTUPvE. [Jan. 



Continue the skimmed milk as long as possible. In no 

 place can this valualjlc product be made to pay better re- 

 turns than in the poultry yard. In cooked food, never feed 

 anything sloppy. A dry, crumbly mass is best. In using 

 milk for mature stock, we must remember that it is food, 

 and its value must be taken from the other supply, else 

 troubles will appear. For growing chicks, the best ration I 

 have found has been composed of thirty per cent each of oats 

 and wheat, twenty of corn, ten of linseed and ten of meat 

 scraps. This, mixed into a dough with skimmed milk, I 

 would bake until thoroughly cooked, set away at least 

 twenty-four hours, and then pound or grind, adding more 

 milk if I desired to feed as dough, or givhig dry. In this 

 combination I consider linseed one of the most valuable parts, 

 but would never feed more than ten per cent. It is rich, 

 albuminous food, and hence valual)le in forchig growth. If 

 these chicks were to furnish my future layers, then surely 

 the ration must be changed to meet the dilferent conditions. 



Having the ration fixed as regards variety and quantity, — 

 this last being a very important item, — there enters at once 

 another factor that must be considered, — regularity in feed- 

 ing. No matter how choice the stock, how careful the 

 breeding, how well-balanced the ration, unless regularity be 

 observed in feeding, it is utterly useless to expect to succeed. 

 Hunger must be appeased at once, or the system draws upon 

 its own stores for nutriment. If regular hours are observed, 

 Nature adapts the animal to the condition ; but the practice 

 must be maintained. A little at a time, and that often, will 

 insure the most rapid growth. Feeding in this way, forcing 

 growth by selected rations, large size will be secured at an 

 early period. Early maturity in everything must be our 

 motto. The chicken put on the market at twelve weeks, to 

 weigh two pounds, will have cost for food not more than 

 eight cents a pound. As broilers sell readily for thirty cents 

 a pound, or more, until the first of June, it pays to grow 

 them. Rather it pays to give a return of extra care and 

 labor, for this growth comes as compensation for what we 

 give. 



In growing to maturity, and marketing when four to four 

 and one-half months old, the dressed weight should ])o at 



