FEEDING FOR EGGS. 272 
giving a very light feed at noon and all they will eat at 
night. 
MAKE THEM WORK. 
In no one point do so many fail as in that of giving 
the hens exercise. Unless they are kept scratching a 
great part of the time, they will not lay as they should. 
Upon this point all are agreed. The usual plan is to 
keep the floor covered with leaves, straw, cornstalks or 
hay several inches deep, and to make the hens scratch it 
over by scattering grain, and by stirring up the litter 
with a fork. The more time spent making the hens 
scratch, the more eggs they will lay, other things being 
equal, and the less time they will have for mischief and 
learning bad habits. One man does in this way: ‘My 
new poultry house opens into .the barnyard, where I 
unload the manure that is drawn from the city in the 
winter. Every morning I scatter four quarts of wheat on 
the manure heaps, and the fowls spend most of the time 
scratching for it. When not so occupied they are on 
the nests laying, or are clucking contentedly in the hen- 
house. Every evening before the fowls go to roost a 
feed of corn is given them. I get plenty of eggs and 
the fowls are contented and healthy.” 
Whenever the ground is bare of snow, during the win- 
ter, give the birds a chance to run. After their first 
meal in the morning, give their feed on some grass plot, 
or where the dead leaves are accumulated, and make 
them scratch for it. They need just such exercise, and 
will be all the healthier and hardier for it. When snow 
covers the ground, keep them confined in.the house and 
the open shed connected with it. Eating snow and drink- 
ing snow water will keep them poor, no matter how well 
you may feed them. Feed the whole grain in the open 
shed, in which you can put leaves or cut hay or straw, 
so that they will have to scratch for the grain or go hun- 
gry, which latter they won’t do. 
