CHAPTER XI 



Anthracite Coal Ashes — A Substitute for Many 

 More Expensive Necessities 



The feather of a bird is composed almost entirely 

 of phosphorous, and phosphorous is a great aid to the 

 bird in digesting food. In fact, there are manufac- 

 tured " grits " offered on the market, which base their 

 efficiency on the amount of phosphorous they carry. 



Anthracite, or hard, coal ashes, carry a considerable 

 quantity of phosphorous, and this is the reason 

 chickens in all stages of their existence are so fond 

 of them. Our attention was first called to this fact 

 by observing the large number of pullets on the 

 Colony Range, where some loads of ashes had been 

 used the previous season in mixing with the fertilizer 

 for the growing of potatoes. It was noticed that 

 these small heaps of ashes were very soon consumed, 

 and when they were replenished the pullets were never 

 absent from the piles. The experiment was then 

 made of placing a small heap at the extreme end 

 of the chick runs from the Brooder House, and to 

 our surprise we found one was unable to see the ashes 

 because of the moving mass of yellow which covered 

 them. It was necessary to replenish these heaps al- 



86 



