126 COMMON SENSE 
On leoking over this table it will be seen that the foods ordin- 
arily given to hens are not exactly those best calculated to produce 
eggs. Even wheat, which is usually thought to be one of the very 
best egg-producing foods, is lower in the scale than clover, and costs 
much more. The oats named in the table are the heavy English 
oats. Whether an average American sample would give as poor 
results we cannot say. Oats have never been a favorite food with 
us, except for very young chickens, though in Great Britain they 
are very highly esteemed for this purpose. Cotton cake, when it 
can be had, is most excellent, and either cotton or linseed can be 
had in most places. In my locality cotton-seed cake is not known 
in market, but linseed cake, reduced to meal, is common. Of 
course these “cakes,” from which the oil has been expressed, are 
comparatively poor in heat producing elements, when compared: 
with corn, wheat, or barley. The true way, of course, is to mix 
them, as we shall describe when detailing our practice, 
Last of all, we come to the yolk or yelk. ‘This is a rich, oily 
emulsion, containing a liberal supply of phosphates. It also con- 
tains sulphur in a state in which it is easily set free, as is seen 
by the action of eggs on silver. 
As is easily seen the egg contains within itself all the material 
necessary for the building up of a perfect bird; bones, flesh, 
feathers, claws, and. every part of the complete animal is found in 
an undeveloped condition in the egg. 
Such being the theoretical requirements, it was evident that if 
there was any truth in the principles accepted by chemists, I must 
provide these materials abundantly, and of course in the cheapest 
manner consistent with the health and vigor of the fowls. 
For the great staple food—that which to fowls is the staff of 
life—the various kinds of grain are ordinarily the most convenient, 
and, perhaps, when we take into consideration the peculiar digestive 
apparatus of the fowl, such forms of food are indispensable. 
Amongst the purchased food, therefore, grain of some kind must 
always form a large part, and I was, unfortunately,’so situated that, 
I could not always take advantage of those opportunities which in 
other localities present themselves for getting damaged grain, 
