IN THE POULTRY YARD, 121 
Seeding. 
OME writers tell us that the hen is a mere machine for 
producing eggs—taking in corn at one end and turning 
out eggs at the other. Although this is rather a coarse 
view of the subject, there is a good deal of truth in the statement; 
and therefore it is very obvious that a hen cannot produce eggs 
unless her food is of the right kind, as well as right in quantity. 
Now, chemistry enables us to tell exactly what is wanted to pro- 
duce an egg; it is simply the materials of an egg, and by chemistry 
we can easily find out what these are. Almost any ordinary food 
will keep a cock in good health and condition, but unless we give 
our hens the right kind of food, the supply of eggs will grow less. 
To produce an egg the hen must take in the material required for an 
egg, and unfortunately there is no form of food which will exactly 
represent an egg and no more. Now, whatever is over is waste, and 
must be got rid vf, and if there is too much of this waste the 
system gets clogged up and disease or unfruitfulness is the result. 
Thus, if we feed our hens nothing but corn, in a short time they 
will become so fat that they become diseased, and egg laying 
ceases. But, if for part of the corn we substitute other forms of 
food, such as flesh, bones, cotton-seed cake, clover, etc., the num- 
ber of eggs produced is greatly increased. All experience confirms 
this, and in our experimental coops we have seen it proved over 
and over again. 
What, then, are the materials required to form an egg? In ad- 
dition to the carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, which are found in 
large proportions in all forms of food, there is needed principally 
nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur and lime. It is not difficult to 
supply plenty of these at a cheap rate, and in good form, if we only 
know how. Instead of a dissertation on chemistry, however, let us 
have a talk about eggs, and see what is needed for the different 
