1838] 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



U9> 



dents. One rooiii\f — nay, lofiy lowl-liouso, will 

 be sulliiiietil, where judicious aUeiition i'? paiil to 

 the lollowinnj piiniculars. Veniilation is hiirjiiy 

 requisite, ibr wiiere numerous creatu-es consre- 

 gMii anil remain shut up for many hours, an un- 

 heakhy iieat will be generateti, and a had ellluvia 

 jrom the manure will stagnate and create disor- 

 ders which would never exist if free ventilation 

 and cleanliness were attended to. We have seen 

 in those anomalous spots peculiar to England, yet 

 christened by a French nime, and styled "i^ermes 

 Ornees,^^ wiiere every item was pretty, and ex- 

 pensive, and ornamental, and artificial, and, con- 

 sequently, liable to lailure; we say, in such places, 

 we have seen Rnvl-houses, barely seven lijet in 

 height, with plastered walls and ceiled ceiling, 

 Avith close-slmiting door, and a glazed casement, 

 not made to open! The inevitable consequences 

 were most ofiensive odors, and a sickly stock, 

 which of course consisted of the most expensive, 

 because rare species, and were contmually obliged 

 to be renewed. 



Fowl-houses, we repeat, should be lofty, and 

 securely closed in the lower part, to prevent the 

 ingress of vermin, not only foxes, but stoais, 

 weasels, rats, &c. The upper portion may be 

 very open, as much so indeed as is consistent with 

 due shelter li-om rain. As it is the nature of 

 warm air to ascend, it is evident that the atmos- 

 phere which is heated with, and contaminated by, 

 the creatures and their odor, will ascend and pre- 

 vent the descent of cold air. The floor of the 

 dormitory oui^ht to be formed of any convenient 

 material which will be ibund to be most dry, even, 

 and commodious, in order to allow of its being 

 frequently washed. In laying the floor, a gradual 

 slope should be made towards the middle, or to 

 one side, where a drain might carry ofl' the mois- 

 ture, after it had been scrubbed with a birch- 

 broom. All good farmers and gardeners are 

 aware of the value to their land of every kind of 

 manure, and need not our recommendation to 

 save every portion; hence, the drain ti-om the 

 hen-house will of course be made to communicate 

 with the general reservoir ol" liquid sullage, which 

 every country homestead ought to possess in the 

 most convenient corner of the premises, where it 

 could be covered in and kept li-om evaporation, 

 by a rough building or shed erected over it. The 

 boxes lor nests should be constructed of unplaned 

 boards, and fastened to the walls about three feet 

 from the ground, and by no means should ihey be 

 placed in the fowl-house; an out-building ought 

 to be devoted to the purpose, where the birds 

 may fulfil their duties either of layino; or sitting 

 quite undisturbed; a fowl-house appears to be se- 

 dulously avoided by poultry, excepting at the 

 hours of rest. Clean straw, not very lon£f, must 

 be coiled round in the nests, but hay should never 

 be made use of; the scent is said to be too power- 

 ful for the birds, and to harbor insects. We do 

 not assert this of our own knowledge, but had we 

 not heard any objections made to the use of the 

 latter, we should give the preference to straw. 



The fowl-house should be lime-whited every 

 spring. The perches for roosting should be of dif- 

 ferent heights, but wider apart than the length of 

 the larger sized birds, to prevent the fowls which 

 may roost on the lower poles from being incon- 

 venienced by those abov^e them. A slopins board 

 with slips of deal nailed on to it, at distances of 



three inches, should be fixed from the floor to the 

 lower range of perches, to liicilitate the ascent of 

 chickens when they have left their coops, and be- 

 Lnn to assume the dignity of roosting fowls. The 

 door of the iiouse should be set open every morn- 

 mg when the birds are let out, to preserve the 

 place healthful by constant ventilation; and where 

 no objection exisis to its being kept open all day, 

 there need be no other place of ingress and egress; 

 where, however, such objection does exist, an 

 opening must be made in the door itsell' at the 

 bottom, large enough to admit the birds, which 

 (the opening) should have a sliding board made 

 to run in grooves, that must b(? closed in the even- 

 ing when the fowls are locked in, and this is a 

 precaution which no one will neglect vvho values 

 his poultry. It will be seen that by closing the 

 little door, we prevent all egress in a morning, 

 until some one of the family may be stirring. 

 Lorn; experience has taught us the value of the 

 regulation; Ibr not only are the fbwis thus pre- 

 served from the attacks of early marauders of eve- 

 ry kind (and many persons would not hesitate to 

 run down and appropriate a wandering pullet 

 who would ft'.ar to rob a hen-roost!), but the 

 yoimu chickens are thus prevented from strolling 

 into the grass while yet it remains saturated with 

 rain or heavy dew; nor will the creatures be de- 

 barred from their favorite and natural morning 

 meal by this arrangement, since, where animals 

 are kept in an establishment, persons must be 

 abroad sufficiently early to allow of their finding 

 worms, &c., belbre the sun shall have exerted so 

 much power upon them, as to drive ihem into their 

 holes, and remove the dew from the grass. 



Treatment of the Poultry. — Having cared for 

 their accommodation, we will proceed to the birds 

 themselves. The stock being chosen — in which 

 we would recomm.end that some of the "everlast- 

 ing layers" be introduced — the proprietor will 

 commence his observations. A poultry-yard is 

 replete with interest, but, as every one may not 

 i'ed equally impressed with a sense of it, and, 

 moreover, possess neither time nor inclinaiion to 

 give the subject personal attention, and thus gain 

 experience Ibr himself, we will do our best to im- 

 part our own. We are convinced, however, that 

 if the "master's eye" be not upon the creatures of 

 his farm, they will fare the worse. Servants, 

 however faithful and trust- worthy, cannot accom- 

 plish all that is wished of their vigilance, nor can 

 they (eel tiiat degree of interest which is necessa- 

 rv in the creatures committed to their charge. 

 Their minds are not of the same calibre, their edu- 

 cation has not fitted them to comprehend the phi- 

 losophic motives which their employers might 

 bring to bear upon the subject; hence, to have 

 proper attention paid, it is absolutely requisite that 

 a master should not only say to his servant — 

 "Do!" but see that "he doelh." 



A stock of fowls should consist of pullets and 

 hens of from one to lour years of age; they usu- 

 ally are supposed to decline after the third year; 

 but when anj' good quality is evinced, such as be- 

 ing good layers, close sitters, or careful mothers, 

 it is obvious that, to deprive ourselves of valuable 

 dependents, only because "it is said" that they 

 are on the wane at a certain age, is sufficiently ab- 

 surd. It is a fallacy to deem those hens interior 

 which happen to possess large combs; it is equal- 

 ly a mistake to consider that those which crow 



