The Forrest City times., 1892-03-04
THE FARM AND HOME.
EXTREME NOTIONS REGARDING
 FOOD FOR POULTRY.
Fowls Need a Variety of Focds-shaii the Hogs Bs RIn gcd-Ysiiow ana White Corn--s ocx Notes
 anl Home Hints.

fn these days when it Is quito the fashion with a certain class Of poultry writers to ''cry down" the use of corn for poultry food. It is quite refresh ing to come across streak of common sense like that in Myron Sumner Per-
 kins' article when he says that poultry require .an abundance and variety of all three classes of food, viz animal.
 vegetable and mineral in order to maintain healthful and profitable ex- istence." The trouble with a good
 many poultry keepers. writes Fannie Field and poultry writers, too Is they get cranky-run to extremes. The
 man who gets a notion that corn is not just ths thing for hens and there fore feeds no corn, is just about as far out of the way as the one who feeds corn about all the time and the poultry keeper who makes vegetables and clover hay the chief food. Is quite as wild as the one who keeps his fowls confined to steady diet of meat scraps and wheat bran. If you will keep Brother Perkins advice in mind consider that fowls like and must have some variety and be 'mejum" in your feeding of anything you will find poultry keeping much more profit able than you would if you were to follow the advice of those who believe in feeding the same kind of food about 365 days in a year.
 Better than the pressed beef scraps is the animal meap' which is pre- pared and sold for poultry food. This animal meal is dry and mealy--all ready to be mixed with the mash
 while the pressed scraps must be chopped and soaked.
 Fowls do seem to like cabbage bot ter than any other green food you can
 give them in winter but never could see the sense in hanging the cabbage
 head up partly out of reach so us to
 compel the fowls to jump fori 1t Give
 them exercise Of course it does; but when you think it over does 1t
 seems as If that were the best way for the fowls to take exercise? Is jump- ing up and down tho way hen takes exercise when she can suit herselfp Not much; she rambles around and
 scratches Then put the cabbage
 where the fowl can get it without
 jumping for it and furnish exercise
 by scattering some of their grain
 among litter, or by giving them a
 bundle of unthreshed grain to scratch
 over
 Hens are awfully aggravating--
 some of them. We have four or five
 obstinate bullets that will not roost
 under cover. We have coaxed ar-
 gued, entreated commanded, threat
 ened. and night after night shut them
 up but all to no purpose. They will
 stay under cover just as long as they
 are shut in. and no longer. It does
 not look well for poultry writer who
 lectures other people about letting
 their poultry roost in trees to allow
 even four misguided bullets to roost
 on tree right beside the public road.
 but my patience has given out and
 those bullets may roost there until
 this time next year for all that care
 or shall do to prevent them. can
 stand it if they can. The meanest
 most exasperating part of the affair is
 that those bullets are laying right
 along at a rate that oaght to shame
 those that roost under cover. And
 while am about 1t Imay as well tell you
 that they have square meal Of whole
 corn seven nights every week! One of the Ohio Farmer readers
 wants to know if in order to be con-
 sidered standard bird fowl must
 come up to the standard description
 for that breed?n Certainly not The
 standard describes perfect bird
 mark for breeders to aim at but the
 perfect bird has not yet been exhib-
 ited. By standard bird" is meant
 one that is not disqualified by defects
 that are mentioned under the head of
 disqualifcations