139 



which would not only be ornamental but make a very pretty and cheap house 

 for aquatic fowls. The interior arrangement of the house may vary accord- 

 ing to the means and taste of the proprietor, only providing the ducks with 

 nest boxes, in order that they may lay and incubate undisturbed, and afford- 

 ing proper protection for their young. 



TUKKEY HOUSE AND NEST. 



To save the trouble, says the Hand-Book of Poultry, of constantly 

 watching turkeys while, they are seeking their nests, there should be a yard 

 inclosing an eighth of an acre for every fifteen birds, where nothing else is 



TURKEY HOUSE AND NEST. 



allowed to go. Eight feet long pickets, with a white birch or any other 

 brushy bush woven in along the top, will make the most secure inclosure. 

 As early as the first of April nests should be made in this yard. 



THE BEST AKKANGEMENT FOK NESTS 



are small houses, about three feet by three, gable-shaped, (as shown in en- 

 graving,) and three feet high in the center. These should be scattered about 

 the yard, and, if convenient, be partly hidden by an over-covering of brush 

 or something more easily made available. If two or three turkeys incline to 

 one nest, set another house at right angles with that which contains the one 

 they covet, and place several eggs in this new nest, and the probability is, 

 that this will end the trouble ; or let them all lay together till one begins to 

 sit, and then shut her in, which will oblige the others to provide for them- 

 selves elsewhere. 



NESTS FOB LAYING HENS. 



The engraving (on page 140,) gives an idea of a wicker-work nest, which 

 is recommended by the Cottage Gardener as just the thing for breeders to 

 use, as the hens take to them readily. All that is needed to make them is 

 an auger, a saw, a bill-hook, a clasp knife, a stout piece of leather for hinges, 

 some tacks, a few poles, two inches in diameter, cut fresh from the water 

 willow, some strips, and a few seasoned pieces of boards. Rive the willow 

 rods into laths two-eighths of an inch thick ; wattle them on the frame as in 



