1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
2l9 
THE GRIT OF A HEN. 
WHEN' AND HOW TO FEED CUT BONE. 
Is it accessary to feed oyster shells and grit to hens that are 
fed green cot bone ? How often do the most successful poultry- 
men feed green cut hone ? We see it recommended by different 
authorities to be fed from once a week to every day. 
One should feed oyster shells or grit; green bone 
does not till the bill alone. We feed green bone twice 
each week ; more than that causes bowel trouble. 
,T. F. CRANGLE. 
Green cut bone will not take the place of oyster 
shells and grit. The green cut bone should not be fed 
oftener than every other day, and in limited quanti¬ 
ties, say onerhalf ounce to each fowl, james rankin. 
While it may not be necessary, I should prefer to 
keep oyster shells or grit before the hens when feed¬ 
ing green cut bone, although it is something I do not 
feed, as green bone is almost impossible to get here, 
and the benefit will not warrant the trouble and ex¬ 
pense. If I could have it fresh, I would feed it daily. 
d. A. MOUNT. 
It is not necessary to feed oyster shells with green 
cut bone; with plenty of mica grit, and wheat and 
clover, I do not think oyster shells are at all neces¬ 
sary. A ration made up of 15 per cent meat, 25 per 
cent vegetables, and 60 per cent grain, should be fed 
each and every day. We often see that, from a small 
flock that lives largely on table 
scraps and grain, we generally 
secure the best results in egg 
production. It pays to have the 
meat and vegetable food a daily 
offering. I believe the meat food 
daily is better than to gorge with 
meat twice a week. r. k. felch. 
Green cut bone does not take 
the place of grit in the fowl’s 
ration, but if fed in sufficient 
quantity, will furnish enough 
lime. Grit of some kind should 
be fed, also. I feed my hens meat 
of some kind every day in the 
year. A little green cut bone or 
dry prepared meat fed every day 
is better than to treat the hens 
to a feast one day and a famine 
the next. h. j. blanchard. 
Fresh green bone is rather soft 
for grit and, it may be added, so 
are oyster shells. Hard, sharp 
flint is better than either. Hard, 
dry, coarsely-ground bone is ex¬ 
cellent. There is no rule as to 
frequency, much depending on 
the other foods given. An ounce 
of fresh cut bone, allowed once 
a day, for each hen, should be 
sufficient. The constituents of 
the entire daily ration are to be 
considered in feeding any kind 
Of food. P. H. JACOBS. 
I would prefer to feed grit with 
green bone, but I don’t know 
whether it is essential. I have 
fed green bone every day, and 
at the rate of one or two tons 
per month, for several years, but 
I have given it up, and my cutter 
and engine now stand idle. On 
figuring on a balanced ration, I 
was surprised to find 20 per cent or more of fat in 
the bone, and I could balance much better with scraps, 
and thereby avoid the trouble of daily gathering. In 
Summer, I don’t know a nastier job than cutting green 
bone, or a harder one than keeping it fresh enough 
to feed during the day it is cut. It took four or five 
years to convince me, as I was so predisposed in its 
favor. WM. H. TRUSLOW. 
I think it necessary to feed grit and oyster shells to 
poultry in connection with green bone, as I do not 
think gi-een bone is hard enough to do the work in¬ 
tended. I keep oyster shells and grit and charcoal 
before them all the time, and also I feed them in the 
clover mash in the morning feed for small chicks and 
ducklings, and also mix them in the feed. My judg¬ 
ment has led me to believe that one pound of green 
bone to 20 hens three times a week, is enough ; if one 
feed more than that he is forcing the birds, and that 
will injure the fertility of the eggs. I take the meat 
in a bucket, go to the center of the yard, throw a 
handful to one end of the yard, and then throw 
another handful to the other end of the yard ; in that 
way, the hens run from one end of the yard to the 
other, get exercise and the benefit of the meat. In 
feeding that small quantity, I feed about half the re¬ 
quired quantity going the rounds, and coming back, I 
feed the other half, and thus have the birds running 
up and down the yards for quite a while, hunting for 
the stray bits. wm. j. saltkr, 
Grit of some kind should be kept within reach of 
the fowls at all times; while green cut bone will as¬ 
sist, it will not entirely take the place of grit. I get 
best results by feeding a small quantity of green cut 
bone or meat of some kind every day. This feeding 
it once or twice a week is all right, if the hens have 
ground meat on the other days, and the green bone is 
put in, in the way of a change ; but to feed it only 
once or twice per week, when no other animal food is 
used, is all wrong. This is very clear when it is known 
that meat in some form is the best egg producer 
known, and to feed it for best results, the hens should 
have a small quantity every day. I find about one-half 
ounce per hen each day about right for ground cooked 
meat, under ordinary circumstances. If green bone is 
used, they will take a little more, as it is not so highly 
concentrated as the cooked meat, and they relish it 
more for a change. J. e. stevenson. 
WHAT THEY SAY. 
Precocious Japan Plums. —In The R. N.-Y. of 
March 12, an article from Independence, Mo., relates 
very unsatisfactory results with Japan plums. In de¬ 
fense of these plums, I wish to give my experience. 
Last September, we picked one bushel of very large, 
fine plums from four scions of Burbank that had 
been set only two years ; there were no small or in- 
Before Full Maturity. 
CARTER’S DAISY. Fig. 
94. 
Before Full Maturity. 
JUNO. Fig. 9 5 
For Description of Peas see Rcralisms, Page 225 . 
ferior ones on the trees. We bought the scions of The 
Storrs & Harrison Co., and intend to send for three 
more kinds this Spring. We set scions of Wild Goose, 
Wolf, DeSoto, Abundance and Satsuma, at the same 
time we did the Burbanks. They have not fruited 
yet. The Burbank is the only plum that has borne 
fruit for us on grafts less than three years old. 
Chemung County, N. Y. M. h. g. 
Building a Scrap-Book. —We frequently find in dif¬ 
ferent papers, articles which we would like to pre¬ 
serve for future reference. For several years, we 
tried binders, but found that our house would soon be 
too small to hold all, and time too precious to hunt 
for what we wanted. I finally decided to cut out any 
article I wished to keep, and have been doing so for 
some time. The next question was how to preserve 
these. I have just purchased a good, well-bound scrap¬ 
book, and purpose to divide it into several headings, 
such as Stock, Fruit, Poultry, etc., index this, and 
when full, start Vol. II. I think that, in a few years, 
these will be the most valuable books in my library, 
and want to commence right. I have noticed in nearly 
all scrap-books I have seen, that the leaves, after be¬ 
ing filled, wrinkle up and are not smooth. How can 
I avoid this ? What kind of paste or mucilage shall 
I use, and in short, just how shall I do the whole 
thing, that it may be as satisfactory as it should ? 
Allegheny County, Pa. t. t. h. 
R. N.-Y.—Some use a flour paste like that used for 
putting on wall paper. Almost every housekeeper 
knows how to make this. Or one may purchase library 
paste at the stationer’s, which does not roughen the 
scraps as mucilage does. 
Experience on an Abandoned Farm. —The editorial 
in The R. N.-Y. of February 26 on a scheme for re¬ 
populating abandoned farms of New England, hits the 
nail squarely on the head. Having retired from busi¬ 
ness for the benefit of my health, I last Spring bought 
a small place, part of an abandoned farm, which I pur¬ 
pose to bring to a high state of cultivation. Although 
I had ample means to work with, ray experience in 
this enterprise proves conclusively the soundness of 
the sentiment expressed in the editorial. F. B. n. 
Merrimack County, N. H. 
The Weeder for Potatoes. —I consider the weeder 
a valuable implement in my early white potato field, 
just after the plants are through the ground and 
before they are large enough to cultivate. It destroys 
most of the weeds, and breaks the crust. I generally 
go over the field twice, with a few days intervening 
between the scratchings. Much of our soil being 
loose, and potatoes not in the ground very deep, we 
are not able to put a scratch or smoothing harrow on 
the field after the potatoes are up. Where the ground 
is hard and much of a crust on it, a slight bearing 
down on the handles may be necessary. The young 
plants, feeling the effects of the 
soluble ammonia applied in the 
fertilizer, grow very fast and 
rank, and it is necessary to run 
the weeder with the teeth almost 
perpendicular, as when set slant 
ing backward, they cut off too 
many of the large leaves. I never 
use it in my corn field. 
WARREN ATKINSON. 
Gloucester County, N. .1. 
Scions for the Nurseryman.— 
Grant that nursery trees are 
cheaper and better than home¬ 
grown, are they always true to 
name ? What g .eater misfortune 
than to plant and give ten years’ 
care to a tree, only to find its 
fruit different from what you in¬ 
tended? Why not send the nur¬ 
seryman scions of what you want, 
and know what you are planting ? 
Let him send you the trees, grown 
from your own varieties. I f they 
cost more, they will be cheaper 
in the end. w. b. w. 
Westchester County, N. Y. 
Likes the Rutter Pear. —There 
seems to be quite a difference of 
opinion among your correspond¬ 
ents in regard to the Rutter pear. 
In southwestern Michigan, I con¬ 
sider it one of our very best 
pears, and can fully indorse all 
that E. P. C., of Bridge Valley, 
Pa., says for it in The R. N.-Y. 
of March 5. With me, it ripens 
just ahead of the Anjou, is a very 
early and prolific bearer, inclined 
to overbear. Its quality I con- 
9 6 . sider high both for eating from 
the hand and canning, although, 
for the latter purpose, it does not 
Before Full Maturity. 
NEW LIFE. Fig. 
show as white and clear as Kieffer, but for flavor, is 
away beyond it. It is a very upright grower, and for 
that reason, can be planted nearly as close as the dwarf 
varieties, and for small yard purposes is superior, as 
it obstructs the view much less. Here it seems to be 
entirely free from blight, has light, waxy bark and 
perfect foliage. a. b. bishop. 
Berrien County, Mich. 
Black and Yellow Locust Experience. —I noticed 
the answer to O. A., Holley, N. Y., regarding Black 
and Yellow locusts, and think that, perhaps, my ex¬ 
perience of 8 or 10 years may be of value to him, as I 
planted about 4,000 trees. I followed directions, and 
put hot water on the seed, and it did not germinate. 
The seed should not be put in too rich ground, as the 
young trees are pretty sure to winterkill if the growth 
is too rank. I bought some small trees from Michigan, 
fully as cheap as I could raise them, planted them in 
nursery rows for one season, and then set them out 
about 4x6 feet. Now, after eight years, I am going to 
cut the trees all down, as they are entirely worthless 
on account of having been worked upon by some kind 
of borer. At first, the borer seemed to work on the 
branches only, and I thought that by cutting off the 
damaged ones, the trees would outgrow them ; but 
later, they attacked the bodies of the trees, causing 
them to break off near the ground. Our trees have 
done the best where the ground is somewhat springy. 
Erie County, Pa. G. k, p. 
