1890.] PUBLIC DOCmiENT — No. 4. 259 



years ; or rather, twice a day a regular ration ; and at noon 

 I give them a little cabbage or onion or apple or turnip, or 

 something of that kind, — a small quantity. 



Question. Is green food necessary in winter? 



Dr. TwiTCHELL. I thought I had made that clear. I 

 would feed green food of some kind every day. 



Question. I understood that you fed clover, and I did 

 not know whether or not in the winter time you would feed 

 that dry. 



Dr. Tw^itchell. I would feed cooked vegetables with 

 the clover. I would give all the variety of green food pos- 

 sible. Steam the clover after chopping. 



Question. How often would you feed little chicks two 

 or three days old ? 



Dr. TwiTCHELL. Five times a day. 



Question. Would you advise keeping food before them 

 all the time ? 



Dr. TwiTCHELL. No, sir; I never keep food before any 

 of them. There must be time for rest and dio;estion. 



Question. You said that in their natural state they pick 

 up kernel after kernel all the time. 



Dr. TwiTCHELL. I say " kernel after kernel ;" but there 

 is considerable time intervening, and the birds are working 

 about all the time. We take them from a natural state, in 

 which they are searching for a kernel at a time, and of course 

 the work of digestion is goino^ on all the while. We take 

 them from that condition and bring them into an unnatural 

 condition when we feed them a crop-full at a time ; and, 

 when fed in that way, there should be time for that food to 

 be taken care of before the crop is filled again. I never 

 would feed an animal all it could eat, because animals, like 

 men, acquire bad habits, and they eat more than they ought 

 to. 



Question. I would like to ask the essayist if he has ever 

 tried to ascertain the difference in feeding value of different 

 vegetables, say turnips, potatoes, etc. 



Dr. TwiTCHELL. I have not. If I were growing ducks, 

 I would use turnips very largely. I have always fed turnips 

 to my poultry more or less, but I have aimed to feed them 

 as many varieties of vegetables as possible. 



