560 



THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



according to the ingenuity of the maker. A coop with a covered wire run that may be moved 

 at pleasure is very convenient for protecting young chickens when cats and rats are trouble 

 some. Such coops afford a complete protection for the chickens, while they can be moved 

 to fresh ground as often as desired. A very good temporary coop can be made from an old 

 barrel, by knocking out one end and putting slats in front. An opening should be made 

 at the other end sufficiently large for ventilating purposes, and where it will be near the 

 top of the coop when ready for use. Very good coops may be made from barrels, as 

 represented by the Figures, 1, 2, and 3. 



In order to prevent 

 the old fowls and half- 

 grown chickens from 

 eating the choice bits of 

 food from the little 

 ones, some kind of coop 

 should be devised into 

 which the latter alone 

 can enter. Large box 

 coops with slated tops 

 of lath, raised upon 

 blocks of a sufficient 

 height to allow the little 

 COVERED RUN FOR CHICKENS. ones to run under and 



exclude the larger ones, 



are good for this purpose. The food should always be put upon a clean surface, and never 

 upon the sand or soil. 



Incubators. Hatching eggs by artificial means was practiced by the Egyptians and 

 Chinese successfully thousands of years ago, and is also at present; yet, in Europe and this 

 country the practice is comparatively a recent one, and is not as well understood as it probably 

 will be in the future, although very good results have been obtained at the present stage of 

 experimenting, those having attained the highest success that have followed nature most 

 closely. 



COOP WITH COVERED RUN. 



Reaumer was the first who attempted in a systematic and earnest manner to natch 

 chickens by heat artificially applied. His method was to place the eggs in a wooden cask, 

 and then surround it with fresh manure from the barn yard in a state of fermentation, which 

 was renewed as frequently as necessary to keep the proper degree of temperature. This 

 method, undesirable as it is, was employed for a considerable time, and quite successfully in 

 France. Cantelo was the first who devised the method of supplying the heat from above, in 

 imitation of the hen. Various kinds of incubators have since been invented, some of which 

 were attended with so much care and labor in management, that although they would hatch 

 a large proportion of the eggs, their use could not be regarded as profitable. Within a few 



