100 POULTR?Y-CRASFT. 
134. Grit, Shell, Dry Bone, Charcoal — while, perhaps, not properly 
foods, are important accessories. 
Grit — is ‘+ hens’ teeth,” and is indispensable. A supply of grit of suitable 
size should be accessible to a fowl from the time it, a chick, leaves the nest or 
incubator. 
CuarcoaL—aids digestion, and purifies the blood. It is fed either pul- 
verized or finely cracked ; sometimes in the mash, but often in a pan or box — 
as grit and shell are given. Fowls should have frequent opportunities to 
use it. 
Dry Bonz —is not so much used since bone cutters and the prepared 
animal foods containing bone have come into more general use. 
OysTER SHELLS — need not be furnished to chicks, but should be given to 
pullets as they show signs of laying, and should be always accessible to laying 
hens. 
135. Buying Supplies in Quantity.— Few poultrymen have enough 
working capital to buy and store supplies for long periods. Those who 
indulge regrets because they have not, spend grief unnecessarily. Buying 
stocks of perishable goods subject to wide fluctuations in price is very much of 
a speculation. One may buy grain,enough to last him six months, only to see 
the price go down within a week, and stay down. Besides, there is always 
some shrinkage and loss in storing food. The ordinary action of the air 
rapidly takes nitrogen from ground foods. Whole grains are more easily 
kept, but a few rats or mice, or a little dampness, may cause loss much greater 
than the original saving made by purchasing the larger quantity. Purchases 
of supplies should be according to size of the business. It will not often be an 
advantage to buy grain for more than two or three months ata time. In many 
‘cases not more than one month’s supplies can be managed with true economy. 
In buying imperishable goods, as grit, oyster shells, etc., the prices of which 
fluctuate hardly ever, the case is different. A small poultryman had best buy 
supplies of these to last a year or two. In buying damaged stuff, especially 
meats and vegetables, it is well to keep on the safe side, buying only as much 
as will be eaten while still fit for use. 
136. Using Damaged Articles for Poultry Food.— Allusion has 
already been made to this matter, and also to the fact that fowls are gleaners 
and scavengers. The latter word may not sound nice— the fact is there, none 
the less. The treatment of this question,— the decision as to what to do and 
what not to do, requires, first of all, common sense. To go tb the extreme 
limit of what fowls will endure in the way of decomposing and filthy food, 
is, from every point of view, a mistake. (Happily it is not a common one). 
To be over-nice, is to be altogether unreasonable. Food that has just passed 
the stage of fitness for human beings of somewhat refined tastes, is just as 
agreeable to fowls as if in perfect condition, axd just as good for them. The 
