THE FEEDS 353 



Rape. — Rape can be planted in drills and, if not cut below 

 the crown, may be gathered several times during the summer. 

 It furnishes an excellent source of succulence for birds 

 confined on bare lots. 



Rye Pasture. — ^Because of its early greenness in the spring, 

 rye is often planted in the fall. It is liable to cause scours 

 if the fowls are allowed to eat too large quantities at first, 

 but, if fed with caution, makes an excellent early source 

 of succulence. 



Silage. — ^Little is known concerning the value of silage in 

 poultry feeding. Apparently, the fowls relish it and it seems 

 to have no bad effects, unless it has been frozen or partially 

 spoiled. 



Sprouted Oats. — One of the increasingly common means of 

 supplying succulence during the winter is sprouted oats. 

 It should be recognized that sprouting only changes the form 

 of the feed and does not increase the nutriment. 



There are several ways of sprouting oats. The necessary 

 conditions are warmth and moisture. They may be placed 

 in a bucket or tub which is filled with water as warm as 

 the hand, can bear, and left over night. They may then be 

 drained off and placed in racks as shown in Fig. 175, being 

 spread out until they are about an inch deep. If there is 

 a good, warm furnace cellar with ^ Cement floor available, 

 they may be spread out on the floor. In either case they 

 should be sprinkled with warm water daily. 



In order to prevent mould. Rice and Rogers' recommend 

 that the oats be treated with formalin. " One pint of formalin 

 should be added to thirty bushels of oats. The liquid should 

 be sprinkled over the grain and thoroughly mixed with it. 

 Success will depend largely upon the thoroughness of mixing. 

 The pile of wet grain should be covered with blankets and 

 allowed to remain for twelve hours. The blankets should then 

 be removed and the grain stirred twice a day until dry, 

 requiring usually about two days. It should then be bagged 

 in sacks which have been sprayed thoroughly with the for- 

 malin mixture each time they are used." 



' Cornell BuUetin No. 248. 

 23 



