POULTRY— CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



253 



not to furnish perches for Cochins and 

 Brahmas, but to litter the floor with 

 straw each night for them to rest upon. 

 Perches for heavy fowls should be broad 

 enough to give good support to the 

 breast, or deformity of the breast-bone 

 will ensue. The ground beneath should 

 in all cases be strewed with sand or 

 ashes, and removed often enough to pre- 

 vent taint. Boxes for nests for sitting 

 should be movable, for convenience of 

 cleansing, secluded, and placed low. 

 Many place the nests upon the ground. 

 Chopped straw is a good material with 

 which to fill nest-boxes, and should be 

 clean. Where the fowls cannot have 

 perfect freedom, it is necessary for their 

 health that an inclosed yard should join 

 the hen-house, to which they may have 

 access. An eighth of an acre in grass is 

 the proper proportion of land for twenty- 

 five hens, but a smaller yard will answer 

 if kept perfectly clean, and if a sufficient 

 amount of vegetable food is supplied. 

 Feed and water troughs or boxes ot suffi- 

 cient capacity should be provided, and so 

 arranged for cleanliness and economy as 

 to prevent the fowls from having access 

 to them in any unnecessary way. If 

 more than one breed of fowls are to be 

 kept, the arrangements for their accomo- 

 dation, above suggested, should be du- 

 plicated. If a smaller number, the pro- 

 portions of house and yard may be di- 

 minished. These arrangements are such 

 as are suggested and approved by the 

 most experienced keepers, both in Eng- 

 land and America. 



Large numbers of fowls may be profita- 

 bly kept by observing in due proportion 

 the conditions of success with a few. 

 They may be kept in large flocks, with ex- 

 tended conveniences, or divided into 

 small flocks of fifty or less. It is reason- 

 able to suppose that want of success with 

 large numbers of birds is most frequently 

 caused by neglect in the matter of clean- 

 liness and food, causing disease, or low 

 condition, destructive of profit, since it 

 has been demonstrated by years of expe- 

 rience, that thousands of fowls may be 

 kept together with large and certain re- 

 muneration. The editor of the Massa- 

 chusetts Ploughman remarks that he has 

 "frequently expressed the conviction that 

 with proper management a large number 

 of fowls will prove proportionately as 



profitable as a small number," and re- 

 commends in substance as follows : That 

 an acre of land, at least, should be given 

 to every two hundred fowls ; wild, rocky 

 land covered with bushes being as good 

 as any; and that a flock of a thousand 

 should have six acres. It should be 

 fenced with boards or pickets, and houses 

 should be erected, according to plans ap- 

 proved for smaller numbers, large enough 

 to accommodate a hundred fowls with 

 shelter, roosts and nests. They should 

 face the south, and the fronts should be 

 partially or entirely glazed, the sashes 

 opening on hinges at the top, so as to be 

 opened in summer for free circulation of 

 air. There should also be provided a 

 number of low sheds about the grounds, 

 beneath which the fowls may take shelter 

 from the sun and storms. There should 

 be abundance of pure water, easily ac- 

 cessible. Fowls selected for breeding 

 should be kept separate from the others, 

 in flocks of twenty, with the proper com- 

 plement of male birds. This writer fur- 

 ther says : 



With a large flock properly kept on 

 such a tract as we have described, there 

 is no question as to its profits. The poul- 

 terer embarking in an enterprise of this 

 kind should keep in view : 



1. That the cheapest and most accessi- 

 ble land is the most desirable, always 

 provided that a near and sure market is at 

 command. 



2. That the utmost economy consist- 

 ent with the safety, comfort, and health 

 of the poultry, should be exercised in the 

 erection of the buildings and fences. 



3. That an abundance of pure water is 

 accessible or attainable. 



4. That fowls over three years old are 

 not profitable, and a stock should be 

 thoroughly renewed every two years. 



5. That only the largest, hardiest, and 

 best fowls should be used as breeders. 



6. That a careful supervision of the 

 flock is necessary, and that it enjoy the 

 most perfect health and greatest comfort 

 in summer and winter. 



These suggestions accord with the con- 

 ditions under which Mr. Warren Leland, 

 of New York, has successfully raised, for 

 many years, large numbers ot fowls, se- 

 curing abundance of eggs and poultry, 

 principally for use in the Metropolitan 

 Hotel, in the city of New. York. Mr. 



