98 THE REARING AND 



carried out occasionally, and the hay or straw composing the 

 nest burnt in the box. In this way, thousands of vermin 

 may be destroyed. This is particularly beneficial, a day or 

 two before a Hen brings out her brood. Remove the eggs 

 with great care into a box freshly burnt out, and put it in the 

 place of the old one. Then immediately burn out the one 

 removed. As soon as the chickens are hatched, put them into 

 a well lined basket, and if the weather be cool, place them 

 near the fire. When all are out of the shell, give the Hen a 

 thorough greasing under the wings and thighs, on the breast, 

 and, most particularly, in the hollow between the rump and 

 vent. In this last spot, lice are sometimes found in a crawling 

 mass six or eight deep. Then the chicks may be safely re- 

 turned to the mother, and if compelled to roost in a fresh 

 clean place, they will keep clear of lice for weeks, and grow 

 twice as fast as lousy ones. 



If perchance, through neglect or accident, they become 

 verminous, grease them on the parts named above, and on the 

 head and neck. This is the only effectual, certain mode. By 

 continued, systematic warfare, the a nasty critters" may be 

 kept down. If they are not kept down, the chickens will be. 

 I have known young Fowls so afflicted, three months old, no 

 larger than clean healthy Chicks of six weeks, running about 

 with their heads and necks as featherless and more naked 

 than the day they were hatched. 



Before leaving this lousy subject, let me amuse you with 

 an incident of experimental philosophy. Last year, I thought 

 I had discovered the grand secret of effectual louse-murder. 

 I had six large Hens, sitting on about ninety choice eggs, 

 game, Creole, and booby. My early chickens had been much 

 injured by vermin, and I resolved to give these summer Chicks 

 a better chance. I greased every brooding Hen from head to 

 tail, and patiently waited the result. When the twenty days 

 of each expectant incubatrix had expired, I looked under her 



