42 



THE AMERICAN POULTERER'S COMPANION. 



five quarts. Two quarts of buckwheat, after 

 boiling, increased to seven quarts. 



For the purpose of ascertaining whether boil- 

 ing altered the preference of fowls for any of 

 the particular sorts, we varied the experiments 

 in every way. The fowls were furnished with 

 two, three, and four different sorts, sometimes 

 all the compartments of the feeding-box being 

 filled with boiled grain, each different from the 

 other, and sometimes each sort of grain filled 

 two of the compartments, one of them having 

 nothing but boiled and another nothing but dry 

 or raw grain. All that could be collected from 

 these repeated experiments was, that the great- 

 er number of fowls preferred boiled grain to raw, 

 though there were many of them which preferred 

 the raw grain on certain days, and no permanen- 

 cy could be discovered in the preference shown 

 for any sort of boiled grain. Some fowls, for ex- 

 ample, which one day preferred boiled wheat, 

 would on other days make choice of corn, 

 buckwheat, or barley. Rye, either boiled or 

 raw, is the least liked by fowls, of any sort of 

 grain. It would seem, from such experiments 

 that we may make choice of the sorts of grain 

 which happen to be cheapest, without much or 

 any disadvantage; always excepting rye, when 

 other sorts are to be had at reasonable prices. 



Oats, although increased in bulk by boiling 

 nearly one-half, are not, any more than rye, 

 rendered more sufficing ; for the fowls which 

 in two days would have eaten two quarts of raw 

 oats, consumed in the same time three and a 

 half quarts of the boiled grain consequently it 

 is no saving to boil the oats. Mowbray says 

 oats are apt to produce scour, and chickens 

 become tired of them ; but they are recommend- 

 ed by many to promote laying, and by some 

 for fattening. 



Buckwheat is increased in bulk, by boiling, 

 more than any other grain, as two quarts, when 

 well boiled, swelled to seven ; yet it is no ben- 

 efit to boil buckwheat ; for the fowls consumed 

 the seven quarts of the boiled grain nearly in 

 the same time which two quarts of the raw grain 

 would have sufficed them. Many have the im- 

 pression that it is rather an unsubstantial food. 



Corn is, on the other hand, more profitable 

 when boiled than when given raw ; for the fowls 



which would have consumed two quarts of the 

 uncooked or raw corn, consumed only three 

 quarts of the boiled grain, which are not equiv- 

 alent to three pints of raw. Even calculating 

 that they were to consume three quarts a day 

 of the boiled grain, there would be a saving of 

 more than one-fourth. In very cold weather it 

 should be fed to the fowls hot, and the water 

 in which it was boiled may be given them to 

 drink. 



Barley is also much more economical when 

 boiled than raw; for fowls which would have 

 eaten two quarts of raw barley a day, ate three 

 quarts of boiled grain. Therefore, as five quarts 

 of boiled barley are produced from two quarts 

 of raw. three pints are equivalent to no more 

 than six-fifths of a pint of the raw ; conse- 

 quently, the expense in raw barley is to that 

 of boiled as ten-fifths to six-fifths, that is, as ten 

 to six, showing a saving of two-fifths by giving 

 boiled instead of raw barley. 



Wheat will increase in bulk by boiling about 

 the same as barley ; but experiments prove that 

 the saving to be obtained by feeding fowls with 

 boiled wheat is not nearly so much as might 

 thence have been anticipated ; for the same 

 fowls which consumed one and a half quarts 

 of boiled barley in one day, ate the same quan- 

 tity of boiled wheat. Three pints of boiled 

 wheat, however, are not equivalent to two pints 

 of raw wheat, as in the case of the barley, but 

 only one pint and a half of raw wheat, which 

 was found to be the quantity consumed in one 

 day by the same fowls. Now, as one pint of 

 boiled wheat is equivalent to no more than two- 

 fifths of a pint of the raw grain, the three pints 

 consumed a day are only six-fifths of raw wheat. 

 Consequently, the proportion of what they con- 

 sumed of raw wheat was, to what they ate of 

 boiled, as fifteen-tenths to twelve-tenths, or as 

 five to four ; hence there is a saving of one-fifth 

 by feeding with boiled wheat, as there is of two- 

 fifths by feeding with boiled barley. 



These experiments proved most clearly that 

 in every case where the price of corn, barley, 

 or wheat renders it eligible to feed fowls there- 

 with, there is considerable economy in never 

 giving the grain raw, but well boiled ; and there 

 is no saving by boiling oats, buckwheat, or rye. 



