80 POULTRY 
a ration which includes milk will keep in 
better physical condition. There will be 
fewer deaths from such a pen than from a 
pen fed no milk. If such birds go through a 
molt or partial molt they will feather much 
more readily and quickly. The eggs from 
milk-fed hens will hatch better and will pro- 
duce better chicks. In the judgment of the 
author, if any strain of hens is fed for five 
consecutive generations, both as chicks and 
hens, on a diet containing milk, there will be 
an extraordinary gain in the general condi- 
tion. In fact, the author believes that no 
man in the poultry business to-day should 
try to grow chickens or keep laying hens 
without the use of milk in some form. 
Substitutes for Liquid Milk. Since 
many poultrymen live some distance from a 
creamery or even from a railroad station, it 
often is difficult to obtain liquid milk. How- 
ever, there are on the market to-day several 
substitutes which can economically be used. 
Semi-solid buttermilk is a product which is 
comparatively low in price, will keep well 
under any conditions, and will be relished by 
the hens. If no liquid milk is available, this 
