. Agriculture for southern schools. uch as grass, sur-plus vegetables, bruised fruit, and spilled grain. Somekinds of fowls afford valuable feathers. Improving the flock. — By saving eggs from only thebest layers for hatching there will be every year an increasein the number of eggs laid by the flock. Hens have beenraised that produced more than two hundred eggs in ayear (Fig. 202). This was done by selecting throughseveral generations the best layers and the roosters hatchedfrom eggs laid by the best hens. Those who cannot atonce have pure-bred fowls should improve the flock byusing only pure
. Agriculture for southern schools. uch as grass, sur-plus vegetables, bruised fruit, and spilled grain. Somekinds of fowls afford valuable feathers. Improving the flock. — By saving eggs from only thebest layers for hatching there will be every year an increasein the number of eggs laid by the flock. Hens have beenraised that produced more than two hundred eggs in ayear (Fig. 202). This was done by selecting throughseveral generations the best layers and the roosters hatchedfrom eggs laid by the best hens. Those who cannot atonce have pure-bred fowls should improve the flock byusing only pure-bred cocks. Food for poultry. — Fowls lay best and grow best whenallowed some exercise. The insects that they catchwhile ranging in orchard or pasture or field form a mostnutritious diet. When fowls are not permitted to range, 006 THE MANAGEMENT OF POULTRY 307 the food given them must be rich in nitrogen. Foodssuitable for supplying nitrogen to poultry are the seeds ofcowpeas and soy beans, leaves of clover and of all legumes,. f^e- Fig. 202. — A Vvhite Leghorn Hen that laid 216 Eggs inTen Months meat scraps, skimmed milk, and fresh, ground should be fed mixed with the usual daily supply ofcorn, wheat, or oats. Poultry thrives best when furnished with a variety offood and when constantly supplied with green food. Afield of rape, alfalfa, or clover should be grown especiallyfor poultry. When fowls are confined, green food oughtto furnish part of the daily ration. 308 AGRICULTURE Grit. — Fowls prepare their food, not by chewing it likelarger animals, but by grinding it against grit in the giz-zard. Hence, fowls must have an abundance of grit, whichmay be sand, gravel, cinders, pounded glass or oystershells, or any finely divided hard substance. If they range,fowls can pick up enough of this. If confined, they shouldbe supplied with some form of grit, as clean sand or crushedoyster shells. The oyster shells are especially useful tolaying hens because, besides
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