HOW TO GET EGGS IN WINTER 89 



It is useless to expect the hens to lay well if they 

 are preyed upon by lice, so that a dust bath is very 

 necessary, unless there is an earth floor into which 

 the birds can burrow. A few upright boards may 

 be fastened together to make a dusting place and 

 earth or ashes with a little lime added given for 

 the dusting material. Coal ashes are good except 

 that they tend to rob the plumage of its luster. 

 Hens like coal ashes and will eat many of them. 

 Dry sand is often used, but the fowls seem to pre- 

 fer heavier earth. It is well for the amateur to lay 

 in a barrel of earth or road dust in the Fall to be 

 used in the course of the Winter. Whenever hens 

 are purchased, it is advisable to give them a thor- 

 ough application of lice powder, dusting it with a 

 generous hand into the fluff around the vent. 



If the fowls are slow in beginning to lay, a little 

 green cut bone may help start them. It is doubt- 

 ful whether the average amateur is justified in the 

 purchase of a bone cutter, but in many large cities 

 it is possible to buy green cut bone ready for use. 

 Of course, it must be fed at once, as it will keep 

 but a short time. 



Another plan is to try feeding a warm crumbly 

 mash, containing a liberal amount of beef scraps or 



