PROFITABLE EGG FARMING 
“ When we have cut fresh bone in abundance 
we omit the meat meal from the mixture; ordi¬ 
narily we have only about half rations of cut 
bone to go around, so use, regularly, half the 
amount of meat meal to make up the deficiency. 
“The foundation of the mash is the cooked 
vegetables, which may be refuse potatoes, beets, 
carrots, turnips, onions (anything in the vege¬ 
table line), and into the pot goes the table waste, 
potato parings, etc., and the potato, squash 
and apple parings from the kitchen. The 
potatoes or beets, etc., are washed before putting 
on to cook, and the mess when boiled is sweet 
and savory. If one has a set kettle in which to 
stir up the mash and there leave it to cook in 
its own heat and the heat of the brick work, 
they are fortunate—we haven’t, and have to 
make ours up in common water pails. 
“The vegetable or clover kettle is put on 
before sitting down to dinner, usually, and an¬ 
other kettle of water to be boiling hot when 
wanted. When the vegetables are cooked, 
we set out four buckets in a row, dip out the 
vegetables into the buckets about equally, mash 
them thoroughly, add the salt—always—and 
the condiment of the day, add boiling water till 
the bucket is two-thirds full, then stir in the 
mixed meal till it is stiff and firm; then cover 
and set away to cook in its own heat. 
“Clover rowen (second-crop-clover) cut fine 
makes an excellent foundation for the mash, and 
two or three days of the week in winter we use 
that instead of vegetables. We fill two kettles 
with the cut clover and as much cold water as 
they will conveniently hold, and heat to a boil. 
The clover is ladled out into the buckets about 
equally, the clover-tea added and boiling hot 
water as before, then salt and the stimulating 
condiment and the meal stirred in. 
“ The morning mash is fed in troughs large 
enough so that all of the fifteen fowls in a pen 
can get about it at one time—another import¬ 
ant factor, because if the trough is small some 
of the birds have to stand back and wait for the 
second table, and when their chance does come 
there is nothing left for them. With a trough 
four feet long by six inches wide there is plenty 
of room, and if a biddy is driven away from one 
place she runs around and goes to eating at 
another, and thus all get a share. 
“ Our fowls have exercise ground in summer in 
yards 125 x 12 feet, which gives them a grass 
run (with growing grass always in the growing 
season), and they will take ample exercise in 
plea-sant’weather. To keep them out of doors 
the noon feed of whole barley (or buckwheat), 
and night feed (before sunset) of wheat or corn 
are scattered upon a graveled space immediately 
in front of the houses. Each family of fifteen 
has a pen within the house twelve feet square, 
or one hundred and forty-four square feet of 
floor space, which gives about ten square feet 
per fowl. The floor is the earth, covered about 
six inches deep with screened gravel. On this 
gravel the grain is scattered in stormy weather 
in spring, summer and early fall, when we want 
the birds to stay indoors. When cold weather 
approaches exercise must be stimulated, and we 
cover the pen floors three or four inches deep 
with coarse meadow hay or common straw, 
into which the grain is scattered and the biddies 
have to dig it out. Some poultrymen use dry 
leaves for pen litter; chaff from a threshing 
mill would be most excellent (nothing could be 
better), and we have found one or two cases 
where common cornstalks were used. With us, 
straw or meadow hay is most easily obtained, 
and we use that. What the scratching 
material is, is of far less importance than that 
the scratching material be there. 
“ Whole wheat is the best grain food for fowls, 
whole barley is the next best and buckwheat 
next. We make barley or buckwheat the noon 
feed five days in the week, and wheat the night 
feed five or six days in the week. We do not 
make the mash on Sunday because we want to 
reduce the work to its lowest terms on that day, 
doing no more than the regular feedings and 
waterings, and collecting the eggs. 
“Monday, we feed oats (or barley), wheat, 
whole corn. 
Tuesday, mash, barley (or buckwheat), 
wheat. 
Wednesday, mash, cut bone, wheat:. 
Thursday, oats, barley, wheat (or corn). 
Friday, mash, barley, wheat. 
Saturday, mash, cut bone, wheat. 
Sunday, mash, barley (or buckwheat), wheat. 
“Two feeds of cut bone each week, one or 
two of whole oats, and one or two of whole corn 
(according to the season), give variety to our 
ration, and to that are added whole cabbages 
hung in the pens in cold weather to tempt pick¬ 
ing them to get green food; or turnips, or 
beets, or carrots are split in halves and placed 
in the pens, to be picked to pieces and eaten. 
“Ground oyster shells are always accessible, 
and fresh water, replenished three times a day 
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