130 Farm Poultry 



Fine hay is satisfactory for nest material and 

 excelsior answers the purpose admirably. Sea- 

 grass, so extensively used in packing china and 

 crockery, is an excellent material. Whatever mate- 

 rial is used, it should be such as will not easily stain 

 the eggs. An egg when first laid is moist, and if 

 the nest material stains or gives up its coloring 

 matter readily, the egg is likely to be more or less 

 stained, particularly if it has a white shell. If the 

 nests are placed side by side, the partitions should 

 extend two inches or more above the nest material 

 to prevent the fowls from attempting to draw 

 the eggs from one nest to another, and, in so doing, 

 cause the eggs to roll back and be broken. 



Drinking-fountains. It is of the utmost impor- 

 tance that fowls be supplied with pure water. This 

 is one of the somewhat difficult problems 

 that every poultryman has to meet. It 

 is difficult to keep the water-dishes clean, 

 particularly when the fowls are confined 

 in the houses, as they are during the severe 

 winter months. Scratching in 

 the litter will cause more or less 

 dirt to enter the drinking-dishes, 



, .. . . , FIG. 46. A simple drinking- 



and usually such fowls are fed fountain; a bottle or j ug 

 soft food once a day at least, used as a reservoir - 

 and this food will also enter the drinking-dishes to 

 some extent when the fowls drink after eating. 

 There are a number of patented drinking-fountains 



