No. 4.] POULTRY OX SMALL FARMS. 415 



tribute his fowls over the fariii, and, by <iiving them room 

 and range, relieves himself of the necessity of doing for them 

 many of the things which the poultry keei)er who uses in- 

 tensive methods must do daily. 



To illusti-ate : When fowls are eonfined in small yards, the 

 grass is so cjuickl}' killed out, or at best so soiled by the 

 fowls, that they eat only a little of it, — and that little under 

 protest, — and do not get green food in ({uality and quantity 

 proportionate to their needs, unless it is esi)ecially given to 

 them. To ofet jrreen stutf for a considerable number of fowls 

 so confined sometimes taxes the ingenuitj^ of the keeper, be- 

 sides consuming time and occasioning more or less cash 

 outla}^ 



Similarly with meat food. Fowls confined to small yards 

 — either yards that are actually small or those that are small 

 for the number of fowls occupying them — soon exhaust the 

 supply of worms and grubs near the surface, and the occa- 

 sional flyino- insects which come within their reach are as 

 nothing compared to what they would get if foraging over a 

 good range. To compensate for this lack, the keeper must 

 provide something. Whatever he provides costs something 

 in time or money, — often in l)()th. 



Then, as to exercise. Fowls at liberty naturally and vol- 

 untarily take sufficient exercise to keep them in good condi- 

 tion. They may take more exercise than is consistent with 

 economy of food consumed, but the error is on the right side 

 when looked at from the point of view of one who is trying 

 to save labor. Fowls in confinement usually have to be 

 compelled to take exercise. The grain fed them is buried in 

 litter, and to get it they must scratch it out. Various other 

 expedients to assure the keeper that the fowls will get needed 

 exercise are in vogue. When the fowls are confined, com- 

 pulsory exercise seems to be needed to keep them in good 

 condition, — some experiments made to determine compara- 

 tive merits of exercise and no-exercise systems to the con- 

 trary notwithstanding. Volume of egg production for a 

 short period is not the only standard to be applied in making 

 such tests. In matters of this kind the consensus of o})inion 

 of many intelligent and observant poultrymen, noting for 



