Methods with Laying Hens 191 



"My dear sir, are you putting that in your own 

 drinking water? No. Then for mercy's sake 

 spare the poor hens. Permanganate of potash has 

 a very strong color, and looks well, but unless 

 it were strong enough to make a hen very ill it 

 would not kill any microorganism. Let me say that 

 we know as yet of no antiseptic whatever which 

 is safe to use in the alimentary tracts in a form 

 strong enough to kill germs. This whole business 

 is likely to be an excuse for dirt which will cause 

 much more trouble than any potash solution will 

 ever cure. Tell your readers to keep their vessels 

 clean, and to keep them filled with clean, fresh 

 water, and let nostnuns alone. The man who 

 would use this stuff is just the man who, in a 

 scourge of influenza, would carry a nutmeg in his 

 pocket." 



Scratch Grain. — Exercise is a prime necessity for 

 laying hens. Like the rest of us they are inclined 

 to get along without it if they can. We must lay 

 our plans to make them work. Grain, scattered 

 in deep litter, is the prescription, and morning is 

 the time. 



During late years there has been a tendency to 

 simplify the scratch grain ration. Many grains 



