Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 205, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 August 1916 — HENS LIKE EARTH WORMS [ARTICLE]

HENS LIKE EARTH WORMS

Creepers of Soil Can Be Easily Obtained With Spade Hens thoroughly enjoy a few earth worms with their grain and greens. Ihe best way to furnish these is to spade over a small part of the yatd each day. If the weather is dry and the fish bait scarce try placing a board over a watered section of the yard and early the next morning spade up that plot of ground. You will get the worms before they retreat farther down into the ground,- and the hens will sing as they wait for the next one to be turned out of its hiding place. After the spading exercise is ore** for the day the hens will literally t#a» the lumps of earth to fragments, hunt ing for the earth chemicals which they eeem to enjoy and which no doubt, are useful in supplying certain requirements of their bodies. A space of ground three feet square turned over each morning will give 20 hens plenty of fresh earth to work in for the entire day and the soil will be improved by the spading process.