476 



HOW TO MAKE THE FARM PAY. 



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{Fig. 97. 

 tliera rammed down upon the stones, and a foot of good gravel, 

 fine, on top, as a floor. This secures permanent drainage, cleanli- 

 ness, and the gravel is indispensable to the health of the fowls. 

 The floor is three feet below the surface, which secures warmth 

 in the coldest weather. The house may now be built as directed. 

 Castaway boards are just as good as any thing, for it is not the 

 looks you are after, but the profits. Ten or fifteen dollars will 

 build such a house on many farms, and twenty-five dollars will 

 pay for it anywhere. The slant lines near the entrance repre- 

 sent the roosts, which are five feet from the floor and two feet 

 above the level of the ground. Underneath these roosts is a 

 slanting shelf, which is swept every week and coveied with 

 lime. Don't omit this, whatever shape you put your poultry 

 hou.se in. The squares at the opposite ends represent the nests, 

 which are ranged in tiers, commencing on the bottom. There 

 are three tiers, allowing three feet for each tier ; forty-five nests 

 in all. After the hens come off with their broods, the nests are 

 scalded out with boiling water and lime. The hens should be 

 act as nearly as possible about the same time, and when they 

 come off twenty to thirty chicks given to one hen to take care 

 of, and the other hens treated to a cold bath, and shut up for a 

 few days, when they will commence laying again. Cracked 

 I'-oro is the best and most economical feed for fowls, but they 



