14 
THE POULTRY BOOK. 
When soft food is used, it is desirable to place it in a trough railed across at the 
top, to prevent it being trodden upon by the fowls. The feeders made by Crooks 
& Co., Carnaby Street, with loose, removable tops, so constructed that the fowls 
cannot stand upon them, are exceedingly well adapted for this purpose. 
Animal food is sometimes given to poultry, and a little chopped raw meat is in 
many cases of sickness an admirable restorative ; but when at large the insects and 
worms naturally obtained are far superior to any more artificial substitute. London 
tallow-melters are constantly advertising greaves as a food for prize poultry : we 
merely mention the fact to warn our readers against the use of this substance, 
as it rapidly throws fowls out of condition, and renders them unfit for human 
food. 
The following tabular view of the composition of the various grains may be 
advantageously consulted, inasmuch as it may perhaps lead to an easier under- 
standing of the relative value of the different kinds of food, it being borne in mind 
that all such statements are merely approximations to the truth, as the composition 
of grain varies considerably with the character of the season and the soil. 
TABLE SHOWING THE COMPOSITION OP THE SUBSTANCES EMPLOYED IN FEEDING POULTEY. 
Every 100 lbs. of 
Fat or Oil. 
Flesh-form- 
ing Food 
(Gluten, &c.) 
Warmth - 
giving Food 
> Starch, &c.) 
Mineral or 
Bone-making 
Substances. 
Husk or 
Fibre. 
Water. 
I 
1 
Oats contains . . 
6 
15 
47 
2 
20 
1 
9 
Oatmeal 
6 
18 
63 
2 
2 
9 
Wheat 
3 
12 
70 
2 
1 
12 
Middlings .... 
6 
18 
53 
5 
4 
14 
Barley 
2 
11 
60 
2 
14 
11 
Indian Corn . 
8 
11 
65 
1 
5 
10 
Rice 
A trace. 
7 
80 
A trace. 
10 
Beans and Peas . 
2 
25 
48 
2 
*8 
5 
Milk 
8 
5 
3 
¥ 
... 
87 
If there is any one fact more decidedly ascertained respecting poultry keeping 
than another, it is that half-fed fowls cannot he made to pay. The old Latin 
proverb, “ Ex nihilo nihil fit,” — Out of nothing, nothing comes,” — is as true of 
fowl keeping as of all other things. 
Fowls are either kept for the table or for eggs. In the former case, the 
object is to prepare the young birds so as to be fit for the market at the earliest 
possible period. It is evident that they are not only better in quality, but that they 
realize a larger sum, if they are well fed ; and as young birds have consumed a 
smaller amount of food, on account of their shorter lives, they must of necessity 
return a larger profit than older ones. Eggs, again, can only be produced by the 
hens out of the materials furnished by their food. A scanty supply of the former 
is therefore the inevitable result of a short supply of the latter. In winter, when 
eggs are most valuable, this is particularly shown ; for as there is then no insect or 
