CONDIMENTAL FOODS 221 



Ground salt, or the kind used in the preparation of human food, 

 is best. It should be well distributed through the dry mash. If 

 wet mashes are used, the salt should be dissolved in the water 

 used to moisten the mash. Avoid rock or coarsely granulated 

 salt, because the fowls are likely to mistake it for grit, in which 

 event they will eat excessive quantities, and perhaps die. In 

 most cases where fowls have died from salt it was attributed to 

 this mistake. The writer was once called in by a neighbor who 

 lost several hens suddenly, and on examination it was found that 

 an ice-cream tub had been dumped near the kitchen door, and 

 the hens had devoured most of the rock salt used in connection 

 with the ice around the cream container. 



Condiments, such as Cayenne pepper, should be used very 

 sparingly, if used at all. By some they are severely condemned; 

 others claim increased production with no ill effects. Opinion 

 is divided on the subject, though one's common sense dictates 

 that if certain elements are highly stimulating, there must follow 

 a corresponding reaction. 



Condiments should be given in moderation, for the purpose of 

 seasoning the food about as would be desired by the human 

 taste. This adds palatability to the ration and increases the fowls' 

 appetites. With increased appetite more food is consumed, 

 which is the sort of stimulation to be sought, not the direct action 

 of the condiments themselves. Ground mustard or mustard 

 bran and some of the reliable poultry regulators are to be recom- 

 mended. 



Charcoal is a very necessary part of the bill-of-fare. It is 

 not a condiment, and strictly speaking, it is not a food. It is 

 given for its effect as an absorbent and intestinal corrective. It 

 has a marked influence on gases, impurities and acids, relieves 

 sour stomach and indigestion, and generally sweetens the whole 

 of the inner workings. It is thought to be a laxative when eaten 

 in large quantities, and for this reason many breeders are opposed 

 to giving charcoal to little chicks. The writer has never ex- 

 perienced such trouble. Some fowls do not take kindly to char- 

 coal. The best plan is to keep it before the birds at all times in a 



