124 COMMON SENSE 
the bones, and the latter are passed through a Wilson mill. 
This grinds them up into a coarse powder, which may be either fed 
directly or mixed with the cooked food. As a general rule, the 
quantity of fine powder is not very great, and as the moist bones 
are difficult to sift we let the chickens do the sorting. ‘They are 
greedy for bones or any animal matter, so we throw the ground 
Ibones into shallow boxes or troughs, and after they have eaten all 
they can pick up we dump the rest into the kettle of cooked fuod 
and stir the mass thoroughly. 
There are several establishments that grind bones and offer the 
“bone meal” or “ground bone” for sale. Most of this stuff is in- 
tended for manure, and is fit for nothing else. It is made from 
‘bones of all kinds—most of them so putrid that they ‘smell to 
heaven.” Such material is; of course, totally unfit for food for ani- 
mals, Some manufacturers, however, profess to prepare bone meal 
expressly for food for cows and poultry. The bones are fresh, they 
are ground at once, and the meal is thoroughly dried, so that any 
adhering flesh is prevented from putrifying. Sonye samples that we 
tried were quite sweet, and the fowls relished them and throve on 
on them. Other specimens seemed to make the birds sick very 
quickly, causing diarrhoea, drooping, and general ill health. We 
found, however, that a thorough boiling for at Jeast an hour ren- 
dered them quite wholesome, probably by destroying the putrefying 
agents. But in all cases it is best to get sweet fresh bone medl, and 
the best test for these qualities is to filla saucer with the stuff, 
moisten it thoroughly, and see if it remains sweet after the lapse of 
two or three hours, Fresh meat will hardly putrify, even in a warm 
room, during an hour, but if it has been tainted already, and then 
dried so that it gives off no smell, and merely appears fresh, this 
test will generally bring out its evil qualities. Of course it should 
be kept in a moderately warm room; if exposed to a temperature 
below the freezing point it will not develop its evil features. ‘The 
only simple and handy test that we know of is a good nose. A 
good nose is a most invaluable piece of chemical apparatus, and 
those who spoil it with snuff, tobacco, etc., do not realize what they 
“lose. 
