Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 September 1883 — The Egg Machine. [ARTICLE]

The Egg Machine.

The hen is literally an egg machine, her chief purpose being the production of eggs. Like any other kind of machine, she must have the raw material, with which to manufacture her products, and unless her wants in that respect are fully supplied she frill be valuable only according io the degree with which she is used. She has also a. limit to her capacity and should n «t bo expected to perform service beyond her ability, but should, however, be kept in constant running order sb long as she is 1 needed by her owner. The material upon which she should work must vary according to the requirements of the manufactured article, and, as her instinct teaches her how to select, all that is necessary is to place within her reach that which she desires, and everything' will be well. To produce an egg the hen must havea certain kind of food for the yelk or fat portion, known as carbonaceous, and. for the white she needs foorhjdch in nitrogen, from which she makes albumen. For the shell she needs lime, while many other substances eiiter jn t o the composition which it is unnecessary . to. detail, the omission of any of them being de trim en tai to good work on her ■part. Thus, while we may feed a lien liberally, apparently, by omitting that which is needecL-to complete the process, she may remain idle for want of a. single substance, though fully supplied with everything else. She often gives indications of her wants, for the “softshelled eggs,” .occasionally noticed, admonish the breeder that lime in some shape is heeded. The change of color in their comb and wattles, the drooping of the wings and the anxious, nervous ' appearance are all signs that something .. is radically wrong, for when the productive organs are not healthy the vigor of the fowl is likewise affected by such derangements. . ... - How important is it, then, to endeavor to keep different kinds of raw material" within reach of the hen in order to realize from her all that she can do as an egg machine. She is specially adapted for that purpose, and her health is better when she is in good laying condition than at any other time. Every machine jsooner or later wears out, and in order to keep them in working order--they are oiled and carefully watched, but the hen attends to her own details if supplied with material, as she- is a living factory for; egg production. If she wears out she supplies her place with her descendants, and is ever ready to act well her part if her owner will do likewise. — Farm, Field and Fireside.