Luxuriant garden on Weeks Ranch 



CHAPTER X. 



WINTER GREENS FOR POULTRY 



EVERY poultryman should have a Poultry Garden. This Poultry Gar- 

 den is absolutely necessary in order to get maximum results in the 

 poultry business, whether for eggs or meat. This garden requires 

 careful planning and preparation so that a good variety of green feed 

 can be had every month in the year. It is impossible for the poultry- 

 man to make much money with hens by buying only mill feeds 

 and grains. 



The dairyman cannot make a profit by buying all the feed his cows 

 consume. He must grow alfalfa and other feeds for the silo. 



The profit of the poultryman increases in direct proportion to the 

 tonnage of greens produced and fed. 



No poultryman has ever succeeded on a dry, barren place, to any 

 appreciable degree. The most successful have a large variety of green 

 feed. 



The very first piece of work on any poultry ranch is to lay out the 

 poultry garden and plan the planting so that a good variety of crisp, 

 tender greens can be had three hundred and sixty-five days in the year. 

 The next order of business is to see that these succulent greens find 

 their way to the feed trough of the hens at least once per day and in 

 sufficient quantities to have some left over at each feeding time. 



The more variety the better. The best tonnage is produced from 

 kale, mangel-wurzel (either red or yellow), alfalfa, cabbage, chard and 

 green barley. 



In the month of February is the time to start the hot beds for kale 

 plants and cabbage and mangels. These plants should be grown 

 quickly and set out when not too old. 



The soil and water conditions for a poultry garden are of first 

 importance. The soil should be a rich sediment loam. Not too sandy, 

 for then it will burn out in hot weather. Not adobe, for then it is hard 

 to work and too cold in early spring. 



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