2IO NEW ZEALAND GARDENING. 



Feeding. Fowls confined to runs must have a regular 

 supply of soft food once a day, consisting of scalded meal 

 and refuse meat, boiled and chopped fine. This should be 

 fed in troughs constructed so that the fowls cannot get their 

 feet into them. They should have a daily supply of cabbage 

 leaves, turnip tops or grass. The other feeding- may consist 

 of wheat, which will produce more eggs and of better quality 

 than any other kind of grain. The grain, at least some of 

 it, should be scattered about the enclosure, which will give 

 the fowls employment seeking for it. The quantity of food 

 required for each fowl is what each one will consume at a 

 meal without waste. 



Egg's. The production of eggs must be the main 

 object in keeping fowls, to keep up a regular supply of 

 which young hens must be constantly coming forward, the 

 hatching of which produces a large percentage of cocks ; 

 and the hens which have passed their prime will furnish a 

 regular supply of birds for fattening for the market. ' 



To fatten Fowls. Prepare a coop. A box three 

 feet high two feet wide, and four feet long, will hold 

 half-a-dozen good-sized fowls, which should not be more 

 than six months old. The front of the box must be con- 

 structed of bars three inches apart ; the bottom should be 

 of bars two inches apart. A shelf must be- placed outside 

 the front to hold the food boxes and water. Crushed 

 barley, wheat, or oats, with scraps of cooked meat and a 

 little dripping, will be the best food for fattening. A little 

 and often is the best system. The coop must be well 

 sheltered, and the fowls should be kept in partial darkness 

 between the meals. If well attended to, they will be ready 

 for the table in ten or twelve days. A constant supply can 

 be kept up by putting in a pair for every pair killed. 



The possible profits from Fowl Raising. The 



following particulars of twelve months' work have been fur- 

 nished by a party residing at Christchurch who keeps a few 

 fowls in a systematic manner : Commenced September, 

 1887, with 10 hens and i cock, a cross between a pure 

 Dorking and game hens. 



