Necessity for Thorough Drainage 83 



receive first consideration. A dry, porous soil not 

 only insures a suitable yard or run, whenever the 

 weather is favorable for the fowls to take out- 

 of-door exercise, but also controls to some ex- 

 tent the amount of moisture in the buildings. If 

 the highest degree of success is to be attained, 

 cleanliness and freedom from moisture must be 

 secured. Partial success or entire failure is un- 

 doubtedly more frequently due to filthy houses 

 and yards, together with dampness, than to any 

 other causes. Particularly is this true with those 

 whose chief interests lie in other directions, and 

 who, consequently, more or less neglect their 

 smaller poultry interests during certain portions 

 of the year. If it is desired to keep poultry on 

 heavy or wet soils, the land should be thoroughly 

 underdrained. The removal of the surplus water 

 from the yards or runs very much lessens the 

 labor of keeping them clean, particularly during 

 the growing season. During the summer months 

 a yard or run of loose sand or gravelly soil will 

 require comparatively little labor to keep it clean, 

 while a similar one on a heavy and impervious 

 clay will demand continual attention, and even 

 this will not always suffice to keep the yards in 

 a satisfactory condition. A heavy soil not only 

 retains nearly all of the droppings on the surface, 

 bat by retarding the percolation in times of fre- 

 quent rains soon gives a coating of filth. This 



