142 COMMON SENSE 
scraps well chopped up seemed to be quite as good as insects. 
We also gave them liberally of fresh ground bones, which we pre- 
pared ourselves in one of the Wilson mills. This was before these 
manufacturers had brought out their small mill for grinding fresh 
bones; but by cooking the bones thoroughly they were easily 
scraped clean and ground up, and the soup was mixed scalding 
hot with feed into a stiff dough which was fed to old and young. | 
Before very cold weather came these chickens were well 
feathered and quite large. I found occasional customers, at good 
prices, for a pair of cockerels for some invalid, and though this 
was an uncertain market, yet I was surprised at the number that 
I sold in this way. When spring came I went to a noted res- 
taurant in a neighboring city and induced the proprietor to put 
up a sign: 
“ FALL REARED CHICKENS—TENDER AND DELICIOUS,” | 
and in a few weeks they were all gone, 
I kept the pullets by themselves until the end of February. 
With an unusual degree of forgetfulness, I had neglected to pre- 
pare two yards for them in the fall when the ground was soft, so 
there was nothing for it but to keep them in a loft during the very 
cold months. I had 187 of them, and they were rather a mixed 
lot, as I had taken the eggs just as they came from the breeding 
pens without much care in selecting them. But early in March 
some of them began to lay, and I saw that it was necessary to get 
them into regular houses and yards with proper sheds, etc. I 
therefore had two more of our regular houses put up. I had 
plenty of fence panels, but I could not drive stakes as the frost 
was not yet out of the ground. So I tied the panels together, and 
put them up zig-zag fashion, like an old Virginia rail fence. J 
‘found that they stood quite firmly, and answered every purpose {6 
a temporary expedient. I then divided the pullets into two Its, 
and put one in each house, and fed for eggs. During the next 
month or so they did not do any better than the other hens, if as 
well. But after that time they went on increasing, and when eggs 
