JO Jan., 1910.] Poidir) Farming on Small Holdings. 



never be made inside the fowl-houses, nor yet adjoining. The better phin 

 is to have them in a shadv, darkened spot, away from the house. If the 

 hens are allowed to make nests in the houses vermin is encouraged. 



Dust Bath. — A dust bath should be provided in everv breeding pen, 

 and should consist of a shallow lx>x 5 by 4 feet, in which sand, ashes, and 

 some sulphur, and a little insectibane, should be placed. This should 

 be shaded, and kept moist in summer time. In the winter months, keep 

 drv, and have a cover to take on and off. Neglect of the bath means an 

 increase of the fowl fleas, which, unlike the blood mites which are only 

 found out at night, live on the body of the hen, and drain it of much 

 of the egg-forming elements. These parasites lay countless small white 

 eggs, almost the size of silk-worm eggs, on the downv part of the feathers, 

 especially under the wings and near the vent. In the early autumn, when 

 the birds usually lose their old feathers, these eggs are carried about the 

 farm, are duly hatched, and return to the newly feathered flock; therefore 

 the necessity of a dust bath is apparent, if we expect our birds to do any- 

 thing above the old-time barnyard fowl. We live in the days of improved 

 methods, and the more we attend to the little details, the better results 

 accrue. 



Grit Box. — Everv fowl requires some form of grit for the gizzard's 

 proper work. Fowls have no teeth, and their onlv means of grinding is 

 done in the gizzard bv means of grit, sav, sharp pieces of broken earthen- 

 ware, smashed to the size of a pea, or half the size of a grain of maize. 

 This form of grit is that most relished, and I have known birds to leave 

 quartz until they have exhausted all the earthenware. Oyster shell, Lrcken 

 into small pieces, may also be given to assist shell making, but it is not 

 hard enough to serve the double purpose. 



Drinking Vessel. — Many poultry-keepers make the mistake of uing 

 open receptacles, such as an old saucepan or cracked dish, filling it up 

 once a week, and allowing it to be exposed to the sun's rays. This is a 

 serious error. Should a touch of disease appear on the farm, the bird 

 affected naturallv drinks a lot, and in so doing leaves the germs of disease 

 behind for the others which follow, and so disease is spread broadcast. 

 The scalding of the tins is verv essential. No disease spreads so ripidly 

 as bv means of infected drinking water. Keep the water cool and abso- 

 lutely pure. 



A cheap water vessel can be made out r)f a kerosene tin, cut from the 

 front, half wav down on both sides, and again cut across the centre of tin. 

 Raise the piece of tin slightlv. It will not only form a shade to the water, 

 but also more important still, it prevents the fowls' feet fiom geting into 

 the water, and theret)y forms another safeguard against disease germs. 

 See illustration of breeding pen. 



Keep a rustv horseshoe in the water, and occasionally add 80 drops of 

 sulphuric acid to each gallon. Once a month add a packet of Epsom salts 

 to each half gallon. The colour of the comb should be ob-erved ; the 

 whitish red, the blackish purple, or the very pale comb denotes something 

 radicallv wrong. A bright, healthy, appearance is desired. 



Classification and Description of Breeds. 

 The methods of classification usually adopted by poultrvmen divide 

 the races of domestic fowls on the basis of their general utility. Four 

 general classes or divisions are made : — 



1. Meat or Table Breeds. 



2. Egg or I>aying Breeds. 

 T,. General Purpose Breeds. 

 4. Ornamental Breeds. 



