98 THE HOME POULTRY BOOK 



is made of wire netting and filled with cracked corn. 

 None of this corn escapes, but the hens see it and 

 peck at it. The slight blow is enough to turn the 

 bar a trifle and down comes a shower of corn, 

 which is scattered by a deflector in a wide, even 

 circle. If there is a little litter on the floor, the 

 hens will scratch in lively fashion for a few min- 

 utes, after which another peck at the bait bar will 

 result in another deluge of grain. In this way, the 

 fowls are kept active and there is no waste of feed. 

 All that falls out is eaten and neither mice nor birds 

 can extract any from the feeder. When the hens 

 tire a bit of this exercise or of the food which it 

 brings them, they turn to the hoppers of mash. 

 These hoppers may be large enough so that they will 

 not require filling oftener than once a fortnight and 

 the grain feeder will contain enough for from two 

 to three days to a week or more, depending upon 

 the size and the number of hens using it. 



The water fountain is attached to a butter tub, 

 which is the reservoir, one filling of which will 

 suffice for several days. The tub is covered, so 

 that the water is kept clean, and the fountain is so 

 constructed that the water is always several degrees 

 cooler than the atmosphere. This is, of course, a 



