Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-02-11
Feeding for Eggs.

There is little doubt that the production
of eggs may be largely increased by sys-
tematic, scientific plan of feeding, and the
average poultry-keeper should give this
matter deal OF study and attention The
scientific part of it need not Brighten any
one who is willing to read, study and put
into practice what he learns.
Those who are recognized authorities
assert that the egg product of a hen in her
prime is about three times her own weight
yearly, and in view of this fact the i'm
portance Of supplying her with food rich
IN all the elements that make the egg is at
once apparent. An egg contains all the
elements of living chick-hesh, bone,
sinew, blood and feather-besides the shell
matter, which is mostly lime The prin-
cipal elements in the egg are sulphur, oil,
phosphorus, lime and nitrogen The food
that is given the hen should contain all
the elements that exist in the egg. These
are found i'll wheat, oats, corn, bran, lin
seed, crushed bone, mustard seed, sunfower
seed, and vegetable matter. A reasonable
mixture Of all these, varied more or less.
with the aid of crushed limestone or gyp-
sum, would afford every element called for
to produce a constant yield Of eggs.
But there is another point. \ prom
inent writer on the subject rightly remarks
that one of the greatest mistakes in feed
! ing fowls Is overlooking. When persons
get the chicken fever they get enthusiastic
in the cause and stuff their fowls instead
of feeding them. If the hens are allowed
to run to grain in the barn they eat twice
as much as they should, and the result is
a short supply Of eggs. Where they are
confined to yards they are too frequently
gorged with food which makes fat instead
Of providing those elements which go to
make up the egg. As general thing corn
is fed to the exclusion of everything else.
and while it is fattening, it is a poor one if
fed exclusively. No one food contains all
the elements, and some sort of variety
must be provided.-Ierds Farm and Ranch.
THE CoLoRs OF THE ALPINE SKY
When the Alpine sun is setting, or better
still, some time after he has set, leaving
the limbs and shoulders of the mountains
in shadow, while their snowy crests are
bathed by the retreating light, the snow
glows with beauty and solemnity hardly
equaled by any other natural phenomenon.
| So, also, when first illumined by the rays
OF the unrlsen sun, the mountain heads,
| under favorable atmospheric conditions,
shine like rubies. And all this splendor
is evoked by the simple mechanism Of
minute particles, themselves without color,
suspended in the air. Those who referred
the extraordinary succession of atmos-
pheric CLOVIS, witnessed some years ago, to
a vast and violent discharge of volcanic
ashes, were dealing with "a true cause"
The fine floating residue of such ashes
would, undoubtedly, be able to produce
the effects ascribed to it. Still the mechan-
ism necessary to produce the morning and
evening red, though of variable efficiency,
is always present in the atmosphere. l
have seen displays, equal in magnifcence
to the finest of those above referred to,
when there was no special volcanic out
burst to which they could be referred. 1t
was the long-continued repetition of the
CLOVIS which rendered the volcanic theory
quite probable.-Prot John TyndaH.