EGGS ALL THE YEAR ROUND.

Kumara Times, Issue 1342, 19 January 1881, Page 2

EGGS ALL THE YEAR ROUND.

[tfAftANAKI HEBAU)] Sir, —The following is a proved and practical recipe for procuring eggs all, the year round; 1 will first explain how I made the discovery-. We fed our poultry in the usual way, namely, by giving them the household scraps of vegetables, stale and reasty meat, gra* vies, fat, boiled potato peelings, curdled milk. &c, at random, any time of the day. I observed they picked up the choise tit-bits and left the remainder, and of all creatures birds are tile worst to touch food they have passed over—* hence a great waste of food* A thought struck me that if this nutritious and fattening food were well mixed with bran until it became one solid body, so as to be able to make balls of it, and feed the fowls with il, that it would answer well. I at once adopted the plan, and had all the household scraps of each day saved in a vessel (not art iron one), and in the morning mixed it up with bran, as above stated. If the mixture be too dry I add some broth) milk, &c, but if I have none I pottl? boiling water on the brail, and a little fatty substance with it. A little salt) broken bones, and oyster Bhells smashed up, and mixed with the conglomerate mixture, will greatly improve it. The mixture must be scrupuously. clean, they pick up grit enough. The-water must be.pure and the vessel Gleaned out every few days; I feed them early in the morning, but give them just afl much, as they can eat. It would be a wilful waste to give them more. I feed them towards sunset with any kind of corn; &c, Ir have on hand, but they do not require' much because -the mixture is so satisfying andMiutritiousi In spring and summer wegive- them, all kinds of green stuff in their house, bub in winter we let them run in the garden two or three hours in the afternoon. Occasionally, we throw dry, ashes in their hoilae to keep it and dry crushed bones and Oystershells, and a little salt oceasionally is good, mixed with their foods

We keep 12 hens, and during the last year they have laid eggs more or less every day, save one the extra eggs we got through the hew system were worth far more than all the bran, Indian corn, wheat, oats, &c, we bought all the year for them. Oui 4 hens are of the mongrel kind, with no traceable pedigree, but I can say without fear, of contradiction that their pedigree, although untraceable, is far superior to the Darwinites, and far more honourable, because the latter's forefathers are detestable arid useless) while the former are the most useful creatures in the universe while living, when we selfishly kill them they leave us their valuable boJies and bequeath to us their feathers.' The above statements I am prepared to prove, and if necessary I will come out of my shell to do so.

In summing up I have come to the conclusion that a poultry farm would pay better than any calling here* About ten acres would be ample, nearlyall the food could be grown on the farm, such as ludian corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, &c, and all kinds of root crops, turnips, and everything in the cabbage line. The bran would have to be bought, but there is an item that could be used to great advantage, viz., every variety of butcher's offal, which could be boiled down and mixed with bran. Some could be given to them iu a raw state. All the bones should be crushed with a home-made crusher, which would make food for the fowls and manure for the land. But little manure, or none, would be required to be bought because there would be a large quantity from the birds, and offal and crushed bones. • - . Duck, geese, turkeys, and pheasants could be profitably added.—A.B.C.