A GUIDE FOR KEEPERS OF POULTRY 121 
from hens which feed on such things, but the New York 
Experiment Station noticed that hens fed a carbonaceous 
ration laid eggs which were strongly-flavored, although 
not offensively so. A fairly balanced ration gives the 
best eggs as well as the most of them. 
EGGS.—DISINFECTING.—A correspondent of the 
“American Poultry World” writes that he has saved hun- 
dreds of chicks by disinfecting the eggs with creolin dip. 
Dr. \Voods gives the formula for making this dip as fol- 
lows: Mux 1 gill of creolin with 8% quarts of soft water, 
the solution to be mixed fresh each time before using. 
The eggs are dipped in this and allowed to drain before 
being put under the hen or in the incubator. 
EGG-EATING.—Hens sometimes acquire the vice of 
eating their eggs, learning to do this from eating an acci- 
dentally broken egg. If one hen learns how to eat eggs 
the whole flock soon learns from her. Egg shells should 
never be fed to hens unless they are very finely broken 
or are mixed with soft feed of some kind. To cure this 
costly habit cut off the points of the mandibles of the 
beak, using a very sharp knife. Cut back a little at a 
time until enough is cut off to leave the tender flesh 
slightly exposed. As soon as a tiny drop of blood exudes 
from the cut enough has been removed. Then boil some 
eges very hard, selecting those with the thickest shells 
and put them on the floor of the poultry house, where the 
hens can easily get at them. They try to break the shells 
by pecking at them, and this hurts the nerves in the 
shortened beak so they will give it up after a few trials, 
and thereafter not try to break an egg. In a short time 
the beak will grow out into its normal shape and the hens 
will have forgotten the vice. 
In preparing eggs for breaking hens of egg-eating, if 
