IIEPOIITS OF COMMITTEES. 29 



with their liabits and requirements. A few hens runnin,<:^ at lar^^e 

 over a farm, will i2;et a fair livinj^ with little or no feedinn;, but will 

 not yield the best results. There are two f>:reat essentials so lar as 

 their food is eoncerned. One is that they shall have all that they 

 can eonsuma in quantity, and the other is that they shall have a 

 variety sufheient to supply all their needs. It is evident that if 

 • they are to be confined to a larger or smaller space, it is feasible 

 to supply them with food in unlimited ([uantities, and that it is 

 entirely possible to give them all the variety necessary, if we only 

 know what that is. The failures in feeding almost always grow 

 out of the failure to supply an adequate variety rather than a suf- 

 fieient quantity. A hen should be looked upon as an egg-factory, 

 or as a machine for producing eggs. If the machine is in a proper 

 state of repair, {i. e., if the hen is in good health), then the more 

 raw material of which eggs are made up, that the machine can be 

 made to consume, the greater will be the production of the manu- 

 factured eggs. If a hen requires three ounces of grain per day to 

 keep her in condition simply, without increase in any respect, then 

 it follows that unless she can get more than three ounces, she can 

 never produce an egg except at the expense of her own substance. 

 Hence all the profit must come from the excess of the three ounces 

 that are furnished and consumed. For this reason, every expedient 

 that does not interfere with the health of the animal, should be 

 made use of to induce her to consume all the raw material possible 

 out of which eggs are formed. The appetite of a fowl is not al- 

 ways a sure guide in these cases. Perhaps there is nothing that 

 they will eat with greater avidity and apparent relish than hot, 

 boiled potatoes, and yet if they are supplied with all that they will 

 consume, it will surely diminish and even stop the production of 

 eggs. This is also true of some other kinds of food. 



As far as our experience has taught us, up to the present time, 

 their requirements for the largest production of eggs would be best 

 supplied as follows : 



1st. An unlimited supply of good wheat. It is very common 

 to use the cheaper grains, and especially wheat screenings, for this 

 purpose, but we are convinced that a given amount of money in- 

 vested in first quality grain will yield a larger return in eggs than 

 if anything inferior is substituted. 



2d. An unlimited supply of sound corn. The same principle 

 will apply here as regards inferior corn. It is also a fact that a 

 hen will consume less of second quality corn, if it is poorly ripened 



