34 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
furnish the principal grain food, Whether 
corn or wheat be fed would depend on the 
prices of these grains. So far as is now 
known, the feeding value of these 
grains, under the conditions stated, would 
be ‘about equal. The farmer can rest 
assured that he is making no very great 
mistake in feeding liberally either wheat 
or corn, if the market price is the same 
for each. To mix the two grains, how- 
ever, will be an advantage. A variety of 
food will help the appetite. Oats are also 
excellent for laying fowls, and a little 
barley, by way of variety, may be fed. A 
good quality of wheat screenings may 
safely be substituted for higher-priced 
grain. 
— Hopper Feeding. — 
Under the conditions of the free-range 
system, the hopper method of feeding may 
It will make a 
decided saving in labor, and ensure a 
plentiful supply of grain at all times for 
the fowls. The hoppers may be filled 
once a week, or, as often as is necessary 
and placed where the fowls can help 
themselves at will. The feeding of wet 
mash to laying hens will not be profitable 
under the conditions of free range on the 
farm. 
be used to advantage. 
— Exercise. — 
During the winter, a large proportion 
of nature’s food on the farm is not 
available, so that different methods are 
necessary if eggs are to be secured In 
the first place, the exercise which the 
fowls got in roaming over the fields will 
have to be provided in another way. 
[This only applies to countries like North 
America, where the ground is covered 
with snow in winter.—Ed]. 
Exercise is just as necessary as the 
food, Access toa straw stack will keep 
the hens busy scratching for the stray 
kernel. A pile of clean straw on the floor 
of the poultry house, or in an open 
shed, will be an incentive for exercise if 
the grain is scattered in it. It is not 
necessary nor desirable to keep the hens 
shut up in close quarters. — 
‘ — Aninial Food. — 
There are various forms in which 
animal food may be fed. Bones and meat 
September 1, 1909 
may be secured from the butcher, and a 
bone-cutter used to cut them up into 
small pieces. Horse meat may also -be 
used, and on account of its comparative 
freedom from tubercolosis, is safer than 
meat from some butchers’ shops. Skim 
milk is a good substitute for animal 
food, but it has the disadvantage of being 
so bulky that fowls cannot drink enough 
of it to supply the need of animal 
food. On this account, it is better to 
feed ‘clabbered’ milk, or milk after it has 
become sour and thick, and the whey has 
been drawn off. Animal food is very 
largely fed in the form of dried beef scrap 
manufactured in the packing houses. It 
may be fed dry or wet or mixed with a 
mash. About 8 to 10 per cent. as much 
dried beef scrap as total grain should be 
fed to laying fowls. 
— Green Food.— 
Green food may be fed in a variety of 
forms. Dry clover or lucerne—preferably 
the leaves—cabbage, lettuce, sugar 
beets, and mangels are all good, It is 
well, however, to feed clover or lucerne in 
addition to cabbage or beets, otherwise 
the yolks of the eggs will be too light in 
color. Fowls must havea plentiful supply 
of green food at all times. 
— Grit, — 
Fowls should be supplied with as much 
grit as grain, where none is available in 
the field. Gravel, crushed stone, lime 
mortar, and sharp sand are all valuable as 
grit. : 
— Lime. — 
For heavy egg-production, the ordinary 
foods do not contain enough lime for the 
making of shells. Broken oyster shells 
serve this purpose well, and, where they 
can be-easily procured, should be kept 
before laying hens at all times. Lime, 
mortar, and broken limestone will also 
furnish egg-shell material, 
SEL AS ee na a Re TUTE 
Beetroot in moderation is a great food 
for poultry. They enjoy it immensely. 
It acts in many ways—good for liver 
complaints, and is useful in assisting egg- 
production, besides giving the eggs a good 
flavor. 
Muirden College, 
CURRIE STREET. 
TELEPHONE 1,502, 
W. MUIRDEN, Prinorpau. 
CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATIONS, 
SPECIAL EVENING CLASSES are. 
being formed, and will be conducted per- 
sonally by the Principal. Join without 
delay. 
Send for.-particulars to the College, and 
_ lose no time in joining one or other of the 
Classes if you would ensure success. 
Bagot, Shakes, 
& Lewis, Ltd., 
STOCK AND STATION AGENTS. 
. Wool, Skin and Hide Rrokers, 
Auctioneers and Valuators, 
Licensed Land Brokers, Loan 
And Estate Agents, 
Land Department have for Sale--- 
Some Splendid Agricultural, Grazing 
and Horticultural Lands in all parts 
of South Australia. 
Also in Wester: Australia, New South 
Wales, and other States. 
Properties sold privately or by auction 
in all parts of the State of South 
Australia, 
Large Estates disposed of for Closer 
Settlement. 
Advice given as to Best Means of 
Realisation. 
Plans Prepared. Valuations Made. 
Special attention given to City and 
Suburban House and Property business. 
Persons wanting Houses cannot do 
better than apply. for particulars to 
Manager, Land Department, 
William Street, Adelaide. 
18 King 
M. L. Tomlinson, 
(LATE J. G. ORAM), 
Manufacturing Jeweller, 
Watchmaker, 
Diamond Setter & Engraver. 
Repairs to Watches, Clocks, and Jewellery 
of every description accurately, artistically 
and promptly executed at moderate prices. 
27 Grenfell St., Adelaide. 
