Some Minor Rural Industries. 
301 
of the movable house for laying hens. The idea is an excellent and practical 
one. The shelter is by no means cumbersome ; two boys can move it, and 
this may be done daily on to fresh ground. 
The dust -bath is another great feature in the pen. Everyone who has 
seen the delight with which hens scratch about the dust in a country lane 
can appreciate the importance of providing them with at least a box of ashes, 
or with dry earth and a sprinkling of sulphur in it. As regards grit, oyster- 
shells ground fine will be useful, and in that form are greatly appreciated by 
the fowls ; it may even be mixed with the food. I shoidd prefer flint if I 
could pulverise it. Oyster-shells, however, are more manageable, and are 
sufficiently plentiful. When the fowls are very eager for food we begin the 
cramming. 
Finally, where the production of eggs is found to be more remunerative 
than the rearing of table chickens, it will be advantageous to keep varieties 
that are non-incubating, as in that case the cont inuous production of eggs is 
not interfered with by the hens becoming broody and losing time in sitting. 
And the very best laying fowls are unquestionably the white Leghorn and 
the black Minorca. The same careful and judicious treatment, however, is 
in their case necessary to ensure the best results. 
Experiments in Poultry Feeding. 
In an experiment extending over a period of six months at 
the New York Experimental Station, it was found that each 
laying hen of the smaller breeds daily consumed an average of 
2*56 ounces of food (mostly maize meal and wheat) ; birds of 
the larger breeds ate 3-6 ounces each. At the same station the 
weight of water-free food required to produce one ounce increase 
on cockerels and capons was found to be 1 1*35 ounces. Each 
fowl produced about 43 pounds of manure in a year, of which 
two-thirds was moisture. 
At the Maine Experimental Station the gain made by 24 
cockerels in 32 days was 204 pounds, valued at 10s. The food 
consumed was 94 pounds of maize and 1 2^ pounds of meat scrap 
and blood, the whole costing 6s. 
In another experiment hens which were allowed access to 
coarsely-ground oyster-shells laid more eggs than hens which 
received ground glass. The egg-shells of the birds eating oyster- 
shells were also heavier. "When oyster-shells were used a pound 
of eggs was produced for every 3-95 pounds of water-free food. 
The quantity of ground glass consumed was large, and made up 
between a fourth and a third of the water-free food. Hens 
which were allowed as much tallow as they would readily 
consume with their usual food exhibited no symptoms of injury 
to health, but were later in moulting than those which ate a 
less quantity of fat. 
An investigation into the cost of food for growing chickens 
conducted at the New York Station showed that, with skim milk 
at Is. per 100 pounds (say Is. per 10 gallons), a mixture of maize 
VOL. V. T. S. — 18 X 
