THE CARE OF POULTRY 4I 



make a wash of the desired consistency, adding a Httle 

 water at a time. Then add a fluid ounce of crude car- 

 boHc acid to every bucket of wash. Apply the wash 

 with an old broom or with a force pump. Put it on 

 hot and get it into the cracks. 



Best Size of Flock — At the Maine experiment 

 station, flocks of fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, and 

 thirty hens, respectively, were tested for comparative 

 profits. The lots containing twenty hens gave a 

 greater net profit per lot than any other number. Lots 

 of twenty-five hens gave slightly greater net returns 

 than did the fifteen-hen lots, and those with thirty hens 

 gave much less net returns than any of the others. The 

 result indicates that the best profits will be obtained 

 by allowing each hen eight to ten square feet floor 

 space. 



A very common mistake is the keeping of hens to 

 an age when they have passed their usefulness, and 

 frequently this is done because of the feeling that the 

 hens are unusually good ones, when as a matter of 

 fact a hen more than two years old, no matter what her 

 record has been, is less valuable than one younger. It 

 would pay to mark all chickens when hatched so that 

 you could readily by selection keep your flocks down 

 to pullets and one-year-old hens. 



Litter for Scratching — In order to induce fowls 

 to exercise in winter, it is essential to cover the floor 

 several inches deep with some loose kind of litter, in 

 which to throw the whole grain. Long rye straw 

 makes probably the best litter, because it does not mat 

 •down. Wheat or oat straw is also good. Hay or corn- 

 stalks will answer the purpose admirably. Leaves 

 break up quickly and must be renewed often. Refuse 

 from hay loft containing seeds, clover heads, etc., 

 should be used frequently where it can be obtained. 

 The chickens will get a great deal of good material out 

 of this. 



