132 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 



cise, and this they can get in winter if they have a 

 warm and dry place where they can go to scratch. It 

 is a common practice among poultry raisers to force 

 them to scratch for their food by strewing it over a 

 floor thickly covered with chaff or short straw. 



Cleanliness in Care of Poultry. Poultry houses 

 should be frequently cleaned and whitewashed to keep 

 them free from bad odors and vermin. They should 

 be well lighted by a row of windows, placed along the 

 south side, and they should be built sufficiently warm 

 to prevent the freezing of the chickens' combs and feet. 

 Above all else, they should be kept perfectly dry to 

 avoid disease. 



Laying Qualities of Poultry. In the wild state, the 

 hen laid but one setting of a dozen or fifteen eggs a 

 year. This number has been greatly increased by 

 domestication until the "two-hundred-egg-a-year" hen 

 is considered an easy possibility by many poultry rais- 

 ers. If farmers will use care in selecting only the eggs 

 from the most prolific layers for setting, they can, 

 without doubt, greatly improve the laying qualities of 

 their flock. Much, however, depends upon the selec- 

 tion of a breed. 



Varieties of Foods. The variety selected for farm 

 use will depend largely upon the purpose for which 

 the fowls are grown. There are some varieties espe- 

 cially desirable for their laying qualities, others are 

 adapted to the needs of the early spring chicken mar- 

 ket, and still others which may be called general pur- 

 pose fowls. The intelligent farmer informs himself as 



