274 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



me 815. From close study of these I found that the following were among the 

 requisites to successful poultiy culture : A warm, roomy, well-ventilated house, 

 with windows so arranged that ample light and sunshine should be as little a 

 stranger as jx)ss)ble during all the long winter. The roosts, should be so 

 arranged that the droppings could be easily removed, so that at least as often 

 as once a week in summer and once in two or three weeks in winter these should 

 be carried out. The above, together with frequeut cleansings of the house by 

 whitewashing, sprinkling witli carbolic acid solution, sprinkling the nests with 

 sulpliur, and rubbing the roost-poles with kerosene, I found urged with emphasis 

 by all chicken fanciers. The nests should be rather secluded, moveable, and 

 numerous enough to prevent any quarreling. The feed-box and water-trough 

 should be so constructed that neither the food or drink could be rendered filthy 

 by the not over scrupulous fowls. 



With the above principles in view I built a double-walled house, closely pack- 

 ing the eight inch space between the walls with straw. On the soutli side my 

 house slants like a roof, and set in this inclined side are two large windows. 

 There is also a glass window and door on the west, and a window on the east. 

 My barn stands immediateh' west of the poultry house, so that the latter is not 

 exposed to the severe winds of winter. Tiie windows can all be opened in 

 summer, so it is easy to secure ample ventilation. The roost-poles are above 

 two inclined boards which direct the droppings into a light trough, which may 

 be esily carried out and emptied. The water vessel and the box in which I 

 feed cut vegetables, meat, and warm slops, are immediately behind a lath 

 screen, made like a picket fence, and so made as to be easily set aside when I 

 wish to add water or feed. My grain box stands on an inverted pan, which in 

 turn rests on a post two and a half feet high. Thus it is mouse and rat proof. 

 On one side the bottom of the box projects, so that it may support the fowl 

 while eating. The wall of the box on this same side does not quite reach the 

 bottom, so it allows the grain to pass out in small quantities as it is needed or 

 used. A second shallow box receives this. Thus we see that the feed is always 

 fresh and clean. The house is eight bv sixteen feet, and large enough for 30 

 fowls. It can be thoroughly cleaned and whitewashed in three hours, at a 

 cash outlay of five cents, which pays not only in securing healthy fowls, but 

 also for very looks' sake. To a pail of whitewash I always add a large handful 

 of salt. 



^Vhat Breeds to Keep. 



From all I could learn after a careful study of the subject, I decided that for 

 both meat and eggs, no variety ranked higher than the light Brahma, while 

 for eggs the brown Leghorns were perhaps first. For experimentation I wished 

 varieties as diverse as possible, and secured them in the above breeds. The 

 color and size of the eggs, and the appearance, habit, and temperament of the 

 fowls are indeed very wide apart. With the light Brahmas we have not been 

 disappointed. They have proved even better layers in winter than our brown 

 Leghorns, their eggs are fine in quality, large, and of ricii color. At the age 

 of six months the cockerels weigh seven and eight pounds, and while they may 

 not quite equal the Games, the Dorkings, or the Houdaus for table use, I am 

 sure no one will go away hungry or dissatisfied from a dinner graced by a 

 light Brahma. From my own ex])erience, as also from a thorough study of the 

 opinions of others, I think there is no fowl that equals the light Brahma for 

 the farmer. Possibly the Plymouth Rock may rank nearly as high. Tiie 



