CHAP. I.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 13 



" The poultry-house," — according to the 

 late Arthur Young, who so long filled the 

 situation of secretary to the Board of Agricul- 

 ture, — " should contain an apartment for the 

 general stock to rest in ; another for sitting ; 

 a third for fattening ; and a fourth for food ; 

 with even a fifth for the plucking and keep- 

 ing of the feathers." All this, however, can 

 only be necessary where a large consumption 

 of poultry is contemplated ; in which case 

 they should be placed under the care of some 

 old woman, kept purposely to attend them, 

 and having her cottage on the spot. But 

 in those families of easy, though moderate 

 fortune, to which our observations are chiefly 

 addressed, and where fowls are only kept for 

 the supply of the table, such expense is un- 

 necessary, nor is any peculiar care requisite 

 beyond that of attention to their warmth and 

 protection from wet. Notwithstanding which, 

 we freely admit that when the different 

 species of poultry — whether common fowls, 

 turkeys, ducks, or geese — can be each ac- 

 commodated with a separate dwelling, it 

 would be so far desirable ; but this, in small 

 establishments, can very rarely be accom- 



