18 THE POULTRY DOCTOR. 



over night. The same rule applies to all animals. In 

 this matter, "directions" are not needed, but only a 

 little common sense flavored with humanity. 



Another parallel between man and hen : In the 

 human family the mortality is greatest in infancy, and 

 so it is in the hen family. Some mortality in both fami- 

 lies is unavoidable, but much in both may be avoided 

 by a little extra care. To be trite, prevention is better 

 than cure. At the very dawn of its existence the young 

 chick mostly needs warmth. If this warmth be com- 

 bined with moisture the death-rate must rise; therefore 

 Dame Partlett an<i her brood should be caged in some 

 place protected from the wet ground and the rain, and 

 the dame will provide the warmth. Furthermore, keep 

 the cage clean. It is not much trouble, and it pays. Who 

 has not seen a cage with its floor an inch thick with dirt 

 and the whole sodden by having the pan of water spilled 

 over it ! Better let them run than be caged with such 

 a mess. Another point but it involves a little care; 

 who has not seen a hen with her chicks trailed out 

 behind her making their way through the wet grass of 

 early morning ! Each little fuzzy beggar is draggled 

 up to his neck and looks, and is, no doubt, thoroughly 

 miserable. The hen ought to have better sense, but she 

 hasn't. If she and her brood could be kept confined 



