SUBURBAN POULTRY-KEEPING 37 
Time Quantity Food Method 
2 P.M. ‘ (2) 6 oz. Bran 
(Earlier in Winter) 5 oz. Clover hay }Scaldea eee 
+ lb. Pea or bean meal 
} Ib. Shares }Por drying off 
3 teaspoonfuls Mustard Mixed in meals 
5.30 P.M. . £1b. Wheat or oats As in morning 
“The mash (1) was given on two consecutive days, and (2) on 
the third day. In cold weather maize and oats were substituted 
for oats—that is, a half-feed of maize was given every other day. 
The mustard was discontinued in the warmer weather. A little 
sulphate of iron was used in the mash once a week, and per- 
manganate of potash in the drinking water another day. The 
mash was fed in the trough ; the grain was scattered in the litter 
in wet, and on the sandy soil (sometimes lightly buried in the 
soil) in fine weather. Greens—chiefly cabbages—were hung up 
in the house orrun., As X.’s family is a very small one, consisting 
generally of only two persons, household scraps were few, and 
when, as was sometimes the case, they failed altogether, a handful 
of biscuit meal was given instead, and was scaled with the meat 
meal and clover hay. X. sold six of the fowls on 11th June, 
as they showed a constantly recurring tendency to broodiness ; 
the rest were retained until 14th September. The total cost of 
food, £5, 17s. 54d., was thus for 6 birds for 224 days, and 11 
birds for 818 days, thus averaging 8s. 7d. per bird per year. The 
food was, for the most part, bought in small quantities at the rate 
per stone or score. 
«Three features of the above diet are worthy of note, as con- 
travening some of the generally accepted principles in feeding 
for egg-production. 
(a) Beyond the alternation of the two grains, and the some- 
what different mash every third day, there was no variation 
in the feeding. 
(b) Although the diet was particularly rich in nitrogenous foods, 
the good health of the birds, their freedom from ovarian 
disorders, and the absence (with very few exceptions) of 
