April, 1912.] 



387 



Live Stock. 



year, and old cocks of the Brahma Cochin 

 type should only have three or four hens. 

 Later, when the weather is warmer and 

 the birds are more vigorous, the number 

 of hens in Orpingtons, Wyandottes, etc., 

 may be increased to six or eight. With 

 breeds of the smaller type, such as 

 Leghorns, it is generally safe to run 

 six or seven hens with a vigorous young 

 cockerel early in the season, and later 

 on the number may be increased to ten 

 or twelve. In a large run a cock may 

 also run with more hens than in a 

 small one. 



Poultry-Feeds. 



A hen in best laying condition has 

 surplus fat. A very fat hen seldom lays 

 well, and a poor hen cannot also do so. 

 The very fat hen usually does not lay 

 because her condition has become one 

 of debility, and because her tissues are 

 weak and flabby. Fowls are naturally 

 grain-eaters. A large part of their food 

 should, therefore, be cereals. Maize is an 

 excellent grain if used with discretion. 

 It is, perhaps, the grain most relished 

 by fowls. Therein lies the danger. 

 Fowls eat it so greedily that, it being 

 a fattening food, they are likely to 

 become overfat when it is fed too 

 freely. When properly cooked, though 

 fed every day, no evil results would 

 follow. Wheat is, perhaps, the best 

 grain for poultry, and its by-products 

 are among the safest and most satis- 

 factory of foods. Heavy oats are per- 

 haps next in value ; light oats are. a 

 delusion. Peas, though difficult to 

 secure, are the richest and one of the 

 best of poultry-foods. Wherever meat 

 can be obtained it should be given ; 

 chopped boiled liver is greedily devoured 

 by fowls and cut green bone of either 

 goat or sheep is invaluable. When 

 fowls have perfect liberty they can 

 search for insect-food and can thus 

 procure a considerable amount of worms, 

 grubs, insects, seeds, etc., allot' which 

 are most beneficial, besides which they 

 assist in reducing the food bill- Barley 

 meal is one of the most useful foods 

 during the cold weather ; mixed with 

 bran in the proportion of two of the 

 43 



former to one of the latter it makes 

 an excellent ration, and one upon which 

 the birds do remarkably well. Barley 

 meal is not nearly so extensively em- 

 ployed for poultry as it might be. 



Bird-Selection for Egg-Production. 



When selecting birds for egg-produc- 

 tion, there is one fact which should 

 never be lost sight of, namely, that a 

 well-developed posterior always denotes 

 good laying powers. The use of any organ 

 naturally tends to its increase and thus 

 a good layer invariably possesses large 

 and well-developed egg-organs. A table- 

 bird on the contrary has a large breast 

 and is comparatively small behind, while 

 a general-purpose fowl is fairly well- 

 balanced. In chosing a bird for egg- 

 production, one should be selected that 

 is firm and close in body, of a good 

 size though not too big, clean and tall 

 on the legs, active in habits, and, as 

 already indicated, well-developed behind. 

 One other point must ever be remem- 

 bered, as it has so material an effect 

 upon the results, namely, that in order 

 to procure the largest number of eggs, 

 pullets from good layers must be chosen. 

 That like produces like is an inexorable 

 law of breeding, and poor layers will 

 never produce good ones. If a pen of 

 hens are very good layers, all the pullets 

 therefore should be carefully retained, 

 only in this manner is it possible 

 to build up a strain of birds which 

 will lay well and regularly. 



Which is the Best Cross-Bred Fowl ? 



Though there are many breeds of 

 poultry that are difficult to surpass for 

 utility purposes, there are still numerous 

 people who greatly prefer a mongrel 

 or a cross-bred to a fowl that shows 

 any trace of good breeding. There is 

 little doubt that a first cross between 

 two distinct breeds promotes strength 

 and quick maturing, so the question 

 "Which is the best cross-bred fowl?" 

 is often asked. Most poultry-keepers 

 appear unaware of the fact that a cross- 

 bred and a mongrel are not the same 

 thing. A cross-bred fowl is usually 

 understood to be the produce of two 

 distinct breeds mated together ; whereas? 



