POSTS 



161 



3. When it is impossible to provide rear yards with the inten- 

 sive long house, the following method of providing green forage at 

 the New Jersey Station is productive. The term applied to this 

 system is the " double unit " feeding yard. All pens, regardless 

 of size, have exercise yards which are plowed only once or twice 

 during a season, and they are usually bare. Communicating with 

 each pair of these exercise yards is a larger feeding and grazing 

 yard in which green crops are grown, the birds being allowed 

 access to these yards on alternate daj^s. It is not as good a system 

 as regular double yards, yet it enables the 

 keeper to supply green feed to the birds in 

 the most economical form. 



Posts. — Wooden posts made from the 

 barked trunks of small trees are most used. 

 The size of posts will depend upon kind of 

 material, weight of wire, and height of fence. 



Fia. 107. — Three methods of arranging double yards with reference to the houses. I, 

 Front and back yard; II, a, exercise yards; h, feeding yard; III, double yards at the front 

 and side of each compartment of the house. 



Red cedar is verj^ durable, and the cost, in regions where it grows 

 naturally, should not be prohibitive. A good red-cedar post should 

 be at least ten feet long and not smaller than three inches at the 

 small end. Chestnut, locust, and other hard woods which have 

 natural rot-resisting qualities are good. 



It has been found profitable to dip the lower part of the post 

 in tar, letting the tarred portion extend about six inches above 

 the ground line. The charring of that portion, by burning over a 

 slow fire, also has a preservative effect. The bark should not be 

 allowed to remain on the post below or above the ground line, as 

 water accumulates and hastens rotting. Where natural round 

 posts are not available, sawed timber may be used, 4x4 inches 

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