The fowls were victims of jaundice, which is a form of liver disease and caused by over-feeding on rich starchy foods that also cause fowls to become overfat.  However, at the end of the laying season and the beginning of the molt the poultry keeper will lose some hens, even when kept under the best conditions, and especially hens of that age.  In doctoring such cases in the way described, if the fowl does not improve in a couple of days, the hatchet cure is the most profitable.

Rupture of Oviduct.

I have had two other hens die suddenly when on the nest.  The second one - we opened and found one egg broken near the vent and another with shell formed ready to be laid.

Rupture of the oviduct was probably the cause of the hens dying on the nest and is due to the same condition in the hens; that is, the straining to expel the egg necessary in the engorged condition of the internal organs from overfatness.

Melons for Fowls.

Have “stock melons” or “citrons” any merit as a green food for laying hens?  Are the seeds of the above injurious to hens or cows?

Stock melons are desirable for chicken feeding if other succulent materials are scarce, but they are inferior to alfalfa and other clovers.  Seeds are not injurious to stock unless possibly one should feed to excess by separating them from the other tissues.  If melons are fed as they grow, no apprehension need be had from injury by seed.

Rape and Vetch for Chickens.

What time do you sow rape and vetch and are they good for chickens?

They surely are good for chickens or for any other stock that likes greens.  They are winter growers in California valleys and should be sown in the fall as soon as the land is moist enough to keep them growing, or just as soon as you can get it moist either by rainfall or irrigation.  Neither plant likes dry heat or dry soil.

Preserving Eggs.

What is a good way to preserve eggs for home use?

In a cool cellar, eggs will keep very well in a mixture of common salt and bran.  Use equal parts, mix well, and as you gather the eggs from day to day pack with big end down in the mixture and see that the eggs are covered.  Waterglass eggs are good enough for cooking purposes, but when boiled anyone that knows the taste of a strictly fresh egg can tell the difference in an instant; when fried the taste is not so pronounced, but it is there just the same; besides, when broken, they are a little watery.  This watery condition passes off if left to stand for a few minutes.  The best way is to use the waterglass method, is one quart of waterglass to ten quarts of water.  Boil the water and put away to cool, when cold add the waterglass, mixing well, and store in 3 or 5-gallon crocks in a cool place.  They will keep six months if good when put in.  In all cases the eggs must be gathered very fresh, for one stale egg will spoil the whole lot, so great care is needed.