USEFUL HINTS 281 



of our dairy herds are not capable of returning a profit 

 from their food and cost of care. 



The average hen outlives her usefulness in two years 

 and is more profitable sent to market. There are at times 

 good hens in the third and even fourth year, but the 

 average limit is two. Old hens are more likely to con- 

 tract diseases than the younger ones. 



More chicks are killed every year by coarse food than 

 in any other way. Their bowels are tender, so give food 

 that will be easy to digest. Well-dried and crushed bread 

 crumbs, lightly moistened, are as good as anything. Mix 

 in a bit of fine-cut lettuce or onion. 



Pick grapes, if possible, during the heat of the day, for 

 then the stems are less brittle and fewer berries will split 

 and be torn from the branches. Never pick them after a 

 rain and before the bunches have dried out, if you can 

 avoid it, for that tends to cause the fruit to mold badly. 



Ten grains of nitrate of potash in a little milk (warm), 

 three times each day will greatly assist in overcoming 

 rheumatism in hogs. This dose is for the grown hog. 

 If given to pigs or growing shoats, about three grains 

 for each hundred pounds of live-weight will be sufficient. 



A large part of the heavy loss from bad eggs can be 

 obviated by the production of infertile eggs. This has 

 been demonstrated beyond a doubt by the investigations 

 concerning tlL improvement of the farm tgg which dur- 

 ing the past two years have been conducted in the Middle 

 West. 



It is an invariable rule that animals receiving proper 

 care are much better able to resist disease than are those 



