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APPENDIX G 



HOW I FEED HEALTH GRIT FRESH 

 DAILY, by M. C. Martin. When I first 

 started to feed health grit, as it was rather 

 expensive, I was not very particular about the 

 birds eating very much of it. So I would fill a 

 covered trough with a good quantity. Result, 

 pigeons would "go some" for it, when first 

 put in the trough, but would soon eat the 

 choice ingredients, arid care little for the 

 leavings. Also, after water was poured on 

 for several days, the grit became packed and 

 hard, and the birds would pay little attention 

 to it. In this way a sack of grit lasted a long 

 time. But I began to study my birds, and 

 found that when they ate more grit, they were 

 healthier and heartier. Then I began to 

 experiment and after thorough trial have set- 

 tled on the following method : 



Provide covered wooden troughs about four 

 or six inches wide and two inches deep, and 

 long enough for all the birds in each pen to 

 eat at once. The top of the trough may be 

 made so as to be lifted off or removed when 

 putting grit in the trough. 



Once a day feed the grit in the covered 

 troughs and the little birds will soon learn to 

 come for it, and make more fuss about it than 

 when -you feed them hemp. Give them grit 

 once a day just what they will eat up in a few 

 minutes. 



With a little experimenting you can soon 

 learn about how much is best for them. For, 

 by this method, you can overfeed them easily. 



I use five-gallon cream cans to keep the grit 

 in. Pour, in a little water and keep closed, 

 and in this way, the grit is always damp and 

 moist, ready to feed. Grit should be bought 

 in 500-pound or ton lots, thus saving on the 

 freight bill. 



Now, as to the reasons for using health 

 grit. I find the iron in it enriches the blood 

 corpuscles. The small sea-shells, which _ it 

 contains, I have noted, make better hatching 

 eggs, as t6o much crude lime, contained in 

 oyster -shells, makes the eggshells have large 

 white deposits on them, causing the eggs to 

 be easily broken. Such eggs seldom hatch, and 

 if they do, the "peepers" usually die. An- 

 other thing I have noticed is that the birds 

 seldom if ever have sour crop, a common 

 ailment without a liberal use of grit. 



If you follow the method I have explained 

 here, be careful you do not feed too much. 

 A good, large handful once a day is sufficient 

 for a flock of thirty birds. The other way 

 of feeding as used by most squab men is to 

 put a large quantity in a covered trough and 

 leave it a number of days until it is all eaten up. 



SAVES WIRING TIME, by Louis, A. Hart. 



Instead of the old method of tying every other 

 mesh of the wire netting with a short wire, or 

 even running a long wire all the way through 

 the entire length of strand, just take an eight- 

 penny nail and twist it around the two wires 

 three or four times, causing the wires to weave 

 together the same as the rest of the netting. 

 It is very fast, also simple and entirely safe. 

 To imdo, just reverse the operation. 



PREVENTS STICKING, by C, C. Fraser. 



I find it a good plan to dust the nestbowls with 

 buckwheat hulls or tobacco dust. This pre- 

 vents the manure from sticking to the bowls and 

 makes the cleaning much easier. If nothing 

 like this is used, the work of cleaning the bowls 

 is quite difficult. 



One of otir customers in New York .State, 

 Henry Blumers, who bought a big flock of our 

 Homers and Cameaux last year, has raised six- 

 teen squabs from one pair of our Cameaux in a 

 period of seven months. This is how he tells 

 the story: " We noticed in the magazine a party 

 In California having sixteen squabs in ten 

 months, so we thought we would send you the 

 record of one of the pairs of Cameaux .which we 

 purchased of you last fall. They hatched: 

 January 10, two squabs; February 9, two; 

 March 14, one; April 22, two; May 7, one; May 

 2b, two; June 27, two: July 15, two; July 31, 

 two; and now at the present writing (August 

 23) they have a nest started with one egg. We 

 call this the champion pair of the five hundred 

 and fifty pairs of Homers and Cameaux which 

 we bought at that time." 



A man in business judges his correspondents 

 by their style of correspondence. Anybody 

 who wishes information of an advertiser should 

 write him a letter, not a postal card, and en- 

 close a two-cent stamp for his reply. If the 

 advertiser has a stenographer, it will cost in 

 her wages at least five cents to write the letter, 

 not to mention the postage as well as the time 

 of the advertiser in dictating or writing the 

 letter. Every advertiser gets a great many 

 foolish and needless inquiries which are a con- 

 stant burden of expense, and scores of such cor- 

 respondents are productive of no business. 

 Hundreds of questions asked daily are fully 

 answered in printed matter sent out by the 

 advertisers. Another point to remember is 

 that advertisers cannot reasonably be asked to 

 make estimates of -what the inquirer will do 

 with certain pigeons, or in certain contingencies 

 which come up in daUy work in the squabhouse. 

 The only way one can find out what one can do, 

 is to do it, or try to do it. Nobody can tell 

 without trying. 



We are very particular about the quality of 

 our grain. We never buy damaged or second 

 quality grain, and we have told our grain dealer 

 so in such plain words that he distinctly tmder- 

 stands it. We govern the amount to give the 

 birds at one time, by the looks of the feed box. 

 If they have not eaten all that was given the 

 time previous, we do not give them so much. 

 We try to gauge the amount so there will be 

 very little; if any, in the feed box at feeding 

 time. — George F. Cook, Mauie. 



I sell the pigeon manure to a tannery for 

 fifty cents a bushel. I find plenty of ffertilizer 

 that does not go to the tannery, splendid for the 

 garden and lawn. — Graham Roys, Michigan. 



Breed for three things: good feeders^ good 

 color and good size. 



