SPECIAL FEATURES 179 
it is desired to get a greater amount of energy from the engine, 
additional fuel is supplied and its speed is increased. So it is 
with the bird. When a certain product is desired, feed in addition 
to that required for maintenance must be supplied in the proper 
proportion and of the composition which will best attain the 
desired end. 
Special Features.—It has been shown by careful experiments* 
that the observance of certain important factors in poultry feeding 
leads to better results. 
Need of Meat in the Ration—Under natural conditions, with 
free range, birds will hunt for worms and insects and thus largely 
supply the meat requirements of their ration. When fowls are 
kept in close confinement, it is necessary that this meat require- 
ment be artificially supplied. The feeding of meat scrap is the 
best form of meeting this demand. In practice it is found necessary 
to sterilize the scrap completely in order to destroy toxic properties 
and increase the keeping qualities. Approved brands are sterilized 
and thus form excellent feed, but they must be fed with caution. 
In purchasing meat scrap it is safest to buy only that with guaran- 
teed analysis and from a known and reliable firm. 
It is safe to feed meat in an egg-producing ration at the rate 
of 5 er cent. of the total feed. The exact percentage varies 
with the analysis of the meat and the character of the other com- 
ponents of the ration. Meat is usually fed to the birds by mixing 
it with the dry mash, where they can have constant access to it. 
When it is desirable to force them for a short time for some par- 
ticular purpose, the scrap is often fed in separate hoppers. They 
must have meat in some form, and in order to do their best the 
quantity must be ample. 
Natural Feeds for Fowls.—If it were necessary to limit birds 
to only one character or ‘one type of feed, they would subsist 
longest and would do best on a ration entirely of grain. A large 
part of their feed, therefore, should be in the form of whole or 
cracked grains. Many kinds of grain are available, each with its 
own peculiar composition and value, and the feeder is thus allowed 
great latitude of choice in compounding rations. 
Corn is probably the grain most widely fed; moreover, it is 
greatly relished by all classes of poultry. Corn is very fattening, 
especially if fed to laying fowls exclusively. 
*“Experiments by Poultry Department, Cornell University,” foi 
Farmers’ Reading Course, No. 17, by James HE. Rice. 
