A GUIDE FOR KEEPERS OF POULTRY 173 
hens fed corn laid fewer eggs than those fed the nitrog- 
enous rations, but they were larger. The eggs pro- 
duced by the nitrogenous ration were of a disagreeable 
flavor and smell, had small yolks and did not keep well. 
The flesh of the poultry fed this ration, however, was 
darker, more succulent and tender than that of the fowls 
fed the carbonaceous ration. 
These experiments show, as did those of the North 
Carolina station, that feed affects the flavor of eggs. The 
writer has noted a great many times this tendency of 
feed to affect the flavor of eggs. 
FLOOR FOR POULTRY HOUSES.—Where the 
poultry house is situated in a dry location it has been 
found that a hard earthen floor is better than any other. 
If there is any tendency to dampness a board floor is 
better than an earthen one. Where a board floor is used 
the house should be set far enough from the ground 
to allow the air freely to circulate beneath. 
FORCE FEED HOPPER.—On page 247 is an illus- 
tration of a force feed hopper modeled after one invented 
by Prof. Rice. The dotted line at the end indicates how 
a sheet of galvanized iron is bent and fastened the en- 
tire length of the bottom of the hopper. This forces the 
last grain of the feed in the hopper to the front where 
the fowls can reach it. A dotted line indicates how a 
partition may be put in for two kinds of feed. 
FOWL.—A fowl is strictly any domesticated bird used 
for food; therefore ducks, geese and turkeys are really 
fowls, but the more common usage is to restrict the use 
of the word to the domestic chicken (Gallus domesticus), 
and we have adopted this usage with few exceptions. 
FRACTURES.—Sometimes a valuable fowl gets a 
leg fractured below the hock (knee) and it is desirable to 
