MEDICINES, DISINFECTANTS, AND INSECTICIDES 125 



ounces. Egg Forcers, too, follow the rule: cayenne 

 pepper, linseed meal, and a few other of our old friends, 

 with, possibly, gunpowder and Spanish flies — who 

 knows ? — masquerade as a new and wonderful Egg 

 Food. 



Expenses for boxing, labeling, and advertising new 

 supplies must be met, and a reasonable profit added, of 

 course. This is perfectly legitimate, and there are many 

 business men handling poultry for pleasure or to pro- 

 vide fresh supplies for the family table, who are glad to 

 pay the manufacturer for doing the detail work of mak- 

 ing supplies of all kinds ready for instant use. But one 

 should consider that this work must be paid for, and 

 that the smaller quantities one buys, the more he pays 

 in proportion. Clover which may sell for six to ten 

 dollars a ton as hay, becomes "clover meal," or "cut 

 clover" at two dollars a hundred. The disinfectant 

 that started at six dollars for five gallons, becomes 

 $1.50 per gallon, and 50 cents per quart. This is the com- 

 mon way of trade, and is to be expected ; but it is 

 wisdom on the part of those who must make money 

 from their poultry, to do a bit of figuring on these 

 things; because, the price of the disinfectant, above, is, 

 proportionately, above 60 per cent more in the smallest 

 lot named than in the largest. With few fowls, it is not 

 wise to buy in the large quantities ; but there are prepa- 

 rations equally good that can usually be made at home 

 at very small cost, provided that one's time be not too 

 valuable. 



The diseases commonest among domestic birds are 

 those affecting the liver, the bowels, the head and throat, 

 and the egg organs. Among these, all but those of the 



