200 FEEDING AND HOUSING OF POULTRY. 

worth did not show such a good result from the application 
of dung, but in the case of the artificial manures they con- 
firmed the results furnished by the experiments at Hodsock, 
viz., that whilst a satisfactory increase may be obtained from 
a manure containing nitrogen, potash, and phosphates, the 
omission of any one of these ingredients, and particularly of 
potash, resulted in a very material decline in the produce. 
Farmyard manure at the rate of 10 loads per acre yielded 8 
tons 8 cwts., and kiln dust at the rate of } ton per acre yielded 
10 tons and 2 qts. 

EXPERIMENTS ON THE FEEDING AND HOUSING OF 
IPOS 
Some experiments to test the respective values of nitro- 
genous and carbonaceous rations for laying hens, and 
the influence of floored and unfloored poultry houses on the 
health of fowls have been carried out during the past two 
years at the West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station. 
The first experiments with nitrogenous and carbonaceous 
rations for laying hens were made in 1897-98; six lots of 
poultry were used with from ten to twenty fowls in a lot 
representing three breeds. ‘Lots 1 to 3 were feduomea 
nitrogenous ration consisting of middlings, linseed meal, 
ground oats, and maize meal in varying proportions, together 
with ground fresh meat and bone, while Lots 4 to 6 received 
a carbonaceous ration, of which maize meal was the 
principal constituent. In addition, all the lots had either 
boiled potatoes or steamed clover hay, and, at night, all the 
whole grain they would eat, consisting of maize, oats, and 
wheat screenings, maize predominating for the lots fed with 
the carbonaceous ration. The test covered seven periods of 
thirty days each. 
At the beginning of the experiment the fowls fed 
on the nitrogenous ration weighed 448 lbs. (per 100 
fowls), and at the end of the seventh period 566 lbs. They 
consequently gained in weight 118 lbs., while the fowls fed. 
with a carbonaceous ration gained only 11 Ibs. 
