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Show HENS EAT INSECTS. For Thla Reason They Are a Good Thing on the Farm. Movable poultry establishments aro coming Into uso on some of our farms. It Is probable that they aro as yet In their lnfnncy, and that wo aro to seo moro elaborate appliances for utilizing utiliz-ing tho Idea. I havo often thought that It would bo a good thing if tho whole poultry establishment could bo moved about tho farm, says a writer in Farmers' Hevipw, so that wo could havo tho fbwlB working over .a pasturo ono week, n plowed field next, nnd perhnpa n worn-out meadow the next. Tho nmount of Insects on every I fnrm mnko n raro possibility for the feeding of fowls. I notlco that when- ovor wo plow n field near tho house 1 tho hens turn out en masso nnd distribute dis-tribute themselves nlong tho furrows nnd nro oxtromcly busy pulling out nngloworms nnd grubs from tho turned-up soil. I can lmnglno that In caso of a breeding ground of locusts bolng plowed up n big flock of fowls would prove exceedingly valuable. Tho fowls destroy a great many Insects each ovory day If thoy aro given a good chance. I wish somo person would mnko a fow cxnmlnntlons of tho crops of tho hens that havo been allowed to run In i field Infested with grasshoppers. - I think thoy would And 50 or moro of theso Insects In tho crops of each bird. At that rato a hundred hens would destroy 5,000 Insects in a day. Insect llfo Is very nbundnnt on nil of our farms. If wo Includo tho nngloworms, nnglo-worms, we seo that tho nggregato weight of food of this kind must bo vory large. Tho domestic fowls should bo utilized util-ized moro for tho destruction of insects in-sects than they arc. |