37 



The evening meal should consist of wheat, short thick oats, Indian 

 <jorn, buckwheat, and barley. The barley should be steeped in water for 

 four or five days, and then dried in the sun, as when it is treated in that 

 manner the birds will eat it greedily. Another way is to pour boiling 

 water over the barley, then place a sack over the vessel and allow the 

 grain to steam for half an hour. Other kinds of grain may be treated in 

 the same manner. A change of food should be given as frequently as 

 possible; onions cut into little squares and give:, occasionally are very 

 good; also sunflower-seed and hemp-seed. Indian corn is used alto- 

 gether too liberally, especially in the north : many people use it week in 

 and week out for their birds. This should not be done, as it is too 

 heating and fattening, and should riot be used more than twice a week. 



A mistake to be avoided is that when foodstuffs are dear the poultry 

 are practically starved; and not only is egg-production reduced, but 

 birds sent to the market are almost valueless. To feed fowls insuffi- 

 ciently is false economy. 



Overfeeding, on the other hand, is a mistaken kindness, and causes 

 the death of many fowls and chicks. The owner soon discovers* his 

 mistake by finding a shrinkage in the number of eggs produced, many 

 of the eggs having soft shells, some having double yolks, and others 

 proving infertile. 



Fowls must have lime in some form or another, otherwise laying 

 hens become weakened, and often lay eggs without shells. When this 

 occurs the eggs are apt to break before the fowls can pass them, and 

 the fowls often die or are ruptured, being frequently found dead on the 

 nest or underneath the perch. I would recommend every one who keeps 

 poultry to procure a grit-mill (which can be bought from 1 upwards, 

 according to size); with this can be crushed in a few minutes quite a 

 large amount of oyster-shells, which will supply just what is wanted 

 to form the egg-shells. Dry bones, which form excellent food for fowls, 

 can be crushed in the same way. Old crockery, and even glass bottles can 

 be crushed to supply sharp grit, which is indispensable for fowls, and 

 acts as teeth for them to masticate their food. Keep the lime, grit, and 

 charcoal in small boxes, so that the fowls can help themselves. A green- 

 bone mill will soon pay for itself. One of these mills will out green bones 

 like shavings, to which adhere some flesh and ligaments which a hen can 

 swallow easily. These bones can be procured from a butcher for a mere 

 trifle, and 3 oz. or 4 oz. to each hen per week will furnish the best egg- 

 food procurable. 



DOUGLAS MIXTURE. 



An excellent thing for poultry, prepared as follows : 1 Ib. of sulphate 

 of iron and 1 oz. of sulphuric acid dissolved in 1J gallons of water. Mix 

 one teaspoonful to each pint of drinking-water. This should be given in 

 cold weather and during the moulting season. 



LIMESTONE. 



A small piece of limestone placed in the drinking-water occasionally 

 will be beneficial. 



CONSTITUENTS OF FOODS (LEWIS WRIGHT). 



The constituents of foods may be classed as follows : 

 1. Nitrogen. The class containing nitrogen was formerly known as 

 proteids, but is now usually called albuminoids, albumen being the chief 

 type of the class. (The white of an egg is nearly pure albumen, mixed 

 with much water.) There are certain vegetable principles also which 

 contain nitrogen in the form of ammonia; these are considered as less 

 nutritive by some writers, and classed separately. There is no general 



