636 THE COMPLETE GRAZIER, BOOK vrw 



mixed with the meal and forced down their throats, when, as a rule, they 

 will soon be all right. 



" The round shingle which is sent from the seaside, and used hy 

 hundreds as grit, is simply useless, as it, being round, cannot perform 

 the necessary work. Very sharp small stones are required, in fact the 

 edges cannot be too sharp. The friction of the water constantly 

 flowing over the shingle causes it to become in time as smooth as 

 glass. Egg-shells help to form the new shell; but they should be 

 broken very small before being given to the fowls, otherwise it may 

 teach them to eat their eggs. Sand and small gravel, such as may be 

 obtained at the bottom of steep country roads after a storm of rain, or 

 ordinary road scrapings, are also much liked by poultry, and if none of 

 the above can be obtained flint or pebble-stones should be broken up 

 small and given them, as grit they must have in some shape or other." 



After recommending boiled corn during the winter season, the same 

 author goes on to say : " Fish is a very good thing to give fowls when 

 convenient. Unless it is oily fish, and given very liberally, it does not 

 taste in the eggs. English people do not cultivate herbs as they ought 

 to for the use of their poultry. There are two herbs most valuable in 

 the poultry-yard, and yet they are trodden under foot and thrown to 

 the rubbish-heap, or rooted up altogether as the most wretched things 

 that grow. These herbs are stinging-nettles and dandelions. 



" The stinging-nettle is one of .the most cooling for the blood that can 

 be found among all herbs. At the same time fowls do not catch cold after 

 having them (as they are liable to do with sulphur). The nettles 

 should be got when young ; they can be cut short and boiled, and then 

 mixed with the soft food, and the water they are boiled in will also do 

 to mix with their food. If time will not permit of boiling them, they 

 can be put in a vessel of some kind, and boiling water poured over them. 

 Cover them over, so that the steam cannot evaporate. The nettles 

 and the tea can be mixed with the meal; also add a little salt. 

 When given in this way they are both food and medicine. It is rather 

 difficult to gather them, unless a glove is put on to handle them. They 

 can be cut with a knife or scissors, not pulled ; then they grow again 

 very quickly. Nettles are invaluable for fowls. 



" Dandelions are an excellent herb for the liver. They will often put 

 the poultry right when everything else fails. The leaves can be pulled 

 from the roots and cut in small pieces, and given just in their raw state. 

 If the roots of these two herbs are set in the autumn or winter (not later 

 than February) they will grow anywhere if they are put underneath the 

 soil. The nettles can be found by the sides of hedges, and dandelions 

 by the roadside, or on any waste piece of ground. 



" Watercress is an excellent green food for poultry, but rather too 

 dear to buy. Where there are many poultry kept, and spare ground 

 is at command, cow-cabbages are the most economical to grow, as they 

 grow very large, and if grown properly, one is sufficient for fifty fowls 

 in one day ; the fowls are particularly fond of them. A mangel for a 

 change is very good. It is well to cut the mangel in half; then there is 

 nothing left but the skin. Those who live in towns and have but little 



