The Dust Heap. 21 



sary to confine the Game, Hamburg, and Bantam breeds. 

 Galvanised iron wire-netting is the best material, as it does 

 not rust, and will not need painting for a long time. It is 

 made of various degrees of strength, and in different forms, 

 and may be had with meshes varying from three-fourths of 

 an inch to two inches or more ; with very small meshes at 

 the lower part only, to keep out rats and to keep in 

 chickens; with spikes upon the top, or with scolloped 

 wire-work, which gives it a neat and finished appearance ; 

 with doors, and with iron standards terminating in double 

 spikes to fix in the ground, by which wooden posts are 

 divided, while it can be easily fixed and removed. The 

 meshes should not be more than two inches wide, and if 

 the meshes of the lower part are not very small, it should 

 be boarded to about two feet six inches from the ground, 

 in order to keep out rats, keep in chickens, and to prevent 

 the cocks fighting through the wire, which fighting is 

 more dangerous than in the open, for the birds are very 

 liable to injure themselves in the meshes, and, Dorkings 

 especially, to tear their combs and toes in them. If iron 

 standards are not attached to the netting, it should be 

 stretched to stout posts, well fixed in the ground, eight feet 

 apart, and fastened by galvanised iron staples. A rail at 

 the top gives a neater appearance, but induces the fowls to 

 perch upon it, which may tempt them to fly over. 



Where it is not convenient to fix a fence sufficiently high, 

 or when a hen just out with her brood has to be kept in, a 

 fowl may be prevented from flying over fences by stripping 

 off the vanes or side shoots from the first-flight feathers of 

 one wing, usually ten in number, which will effectually 

 prevent the bird from flying, and will not be unsightly, as 

 the primary quills are always tucked under the others when 

 not used for flying. This method answers much better 

 than clipping the quills of each wing, as the cut points are 

 liable to inflict injuries and cause irritation in moulting. 



The openness of the feathers of fowls which do not throw 

 off the water well, like those of most birds, enables them 

 to cleanse themselves easier from insects and dirt, by dust- 

 ing their feathers, and then shaking off the dirt and these 



