66 BROILERS AND ROASTERS. 



Anything like an extended or exhaustive discussion of 

 the numerous points which must be covered-in a compre- 

 hensive treatment of the question is impossible in the 

 limited space allotted to the subject in this book ; but it is 

 in order to observe that whatever the first preference of a 

 poultryman, as based on theory or report of results, may 

 be, he must ultimately come to the method which is most 

 in harmony with his conditions, and with the other parts 

 of his system of poultry keeping. So it is well for him 

 not to feel too much faith in any one system or method, 

 for there is none that will insure good results under any 

 and all conditions, and in feeding, as in other things, one 

 must learn to adapt his methods to his circumstances, 

 changing them or not, as conditions and results seem to 

 require. 



38. Mash Systems of Feeding. — Under this head- 

 ing I would include all methods in which wetted, scalded, 

 steamed, or baked ground feed stuffs, or mixtures of the 

 same, are used as the whole or a part of the ration. 



A ration of all wet, raw, or partly cooked foods, or of 

 cooked foods soaked before being fed, should never be 

 'used in connection with artificial brooding. Such a ration 

 is an unsafe one, except for chicks roaming with hens on 

 a range where seeds of various kinds are abundant. In 

 other words, it is safe to feed an all wet diet only when 

 what is given the chicks forms only a part of their ration, 

 and what they secure by foraging counteracts the bad 

 tendencies of too much wet food. The risks of an all wet 

 ration are greater when chicks are brooded artificially, 

 because bad effects of errors of temperature have the same 

 tendency as an excess of wet food — i. e., to cause bowel 



