THE AMERICAN POULTERER'S COMPANION. 



carnivorous than granivorous. This, however, is 

 only observed from the meat being an occasional 

 tit-bit. Were they fed entirely on meat, with- 

 out any grain, for some time, they would man- 

 ifest the same voracity for the latter. But it is 

 well to take advantage of this omnivorous pro- 

 pensity to make use of every scrap of meat and 

 offal which would otherwise be lost, as such must 

 always assist in saving the quantity of corn which 

 they would otherwise require. Fish is no less 

 wholesome to them than flesh, and they are as 

 fond of it salted as fresh. 



It seems to make but little difference with 

 them whether any sort of animal food is raw 

 or boiled, though perhaps what is raw is more 

 highly relished ; at least they are fond of blood, 

 which they will sip up from the ground where 

 it has been shed till not a drop remains. 



Pieces of suet or fat they like better than any 

 other sort of animal food ; but this, if supplied 

 in any quantity, will soon render them too fat 

 for continuing to lay. 



There is no sort of insect, perhaps, which 

 fowls will not eat. They are exceedingly fond 

 of flies, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, and every 

 sort of grub and maggot. We found it quite 

 advantageous in the summer to open our gates 

 occasionally, and give the fowls a run in the 

 garden or surrounding field an hour or so, in 

 the afternoon, when insects and grasshoppers 

 are plenty. 



A writer in the New England Fanner says, "I 

 keep my hens warm under cover during the 

 winter, and feed them on brewers' grains, which 

 nre placed in an open box or tub, that they may 

 cat when they please, occasionally giving them 



oats, corn, and oyster-shells, pounded fine, and 

 plenty of water. By keeping them well fed and 

 warm, they began laying earlier in the season." 



Mr. Stimson, of Galway, a few years since, 

 connected the business of rearing poultry with 

 the useful purpose of protecting his garden from 

 the depredations of the numerous tribes of in- 

 sects which so frequently render abortive the 

 best exertions of the gardener. His method is 

 simply this : a sufficient number of coops are 

 constructed, and are placed in different parts 

 of the garden, and the hens with their different 

 broods are put into these coops; the chickens, 

 finding no restraint on their freedom, roam over 

 the garden, and devour every fly, bug, or insect 

 which falls in their way. There is one objec- 

 tion, however, to this, which we found by expe- 

 rience, and that is, if left in the garden too long, 

 they become so attached that it is difficult to 

 keep them out when grown up. We would, 

 therefore, recommend moving them to the poul- 

 try-yard as soon as they get in feather. 



The existence of fowls would be of short du- 

 ration were they confined strictly to any one 

 single kind of food, however excellent of its 

 kind ; this would necessarily imply a state of 

 confinement for the experiment. Many arti- 

 cles more useful for a change, would, if given 

 continuously, prove highly injurious, such as 

 corn or animal food, while others, such as bar- 

 ley, or buckwheat, harmless in themselves, would 

 either be refused, or else if taken, disorder the 

 natural functions of the body. Grain of the 

 different kinds seems to form the main articles 

 of food for poultry, but, like bipeds of a larger 

 growth, they like variety. 



