Starting a Flock 47 



clean, bright, and in good shape for poultry. His 

 feed was right, and fed according to a hen book he 

 studied with care. 



Next I looked into his grit boxes. He had only- 

 oyster shells. 



"Where is the grit?" I asked. 



"Why, there it is." 



"Those are only 05'ster shells, " I replied. 



"Yes, but I should think they were sharp enough 

 to grind any food. It says in the book to give them 

 good sharp grit, and that was the sharpest I could 

 find." 



"But, my dear sir, that shell will soften almost 

 as soon as it gets into the crop. It soon goes into 

 the digestive organs, and is absorbed in a solution 

 to make new egg shells. It is of hardly any use 

 in grinding food." 



At that moment his wife brought some grass and 

 threw it on the floor. It was nearly a foot long 

 and some was rather tough. 



' ' I guess I see your trouble, ' ' I said. ' ' That long 

 grass would be dangerous even with the best of 

 grit; with no grit, it becomes deadly." 



' ' But the book says to feed them grass, and clover, 

 and other green stuff." 



