AMERICAN POULTRY CULTURE 



makes it easier to get after lice and mites. Soap 

 boxes or similar boxes, which any one can secure 

 of the family grocer, cost little and are perfectly 

 satisfactory. The nest boxes may be of any rea- 

 sonable depth, but if more than six or eight inches 

 deep it is best to have one side partially cut away 

 so the hens can enter without jumping down upon 

 the eggs which may be in the nest. A quiet, 

 secluded place is very desirable for the nests; the 

 hens prefer to deposit their eggs in apparent con- 

 cealment, and in a rather dark place they are less 

 likely to disturb the contents of the nest and break 

 the eggs. One nest for every three or four hens is 

 sufficient. 



Nesting Material. I like excelsior about the 

 best of anything we have ever used for nesting 

 material, and advise its use. Hay and straw 

 (especially the former) are usually too coarse and 

 unyielding to be comfortable to the body of the 

 hen. Hay chaff makes a comfortable nest, but 

 the hens are liable to scratch in it for the seeds 

 it contains. Use cedar excelsior, as this has a 

 tendency to keep down lice and mites. The old 

 nesting material should be removed every few 

 months and burned and replaced with fresh; this 

 not only keeps the nests clean, but also destroys 

 vermin, filth and vermin being detrimental to suc- 

 cess with poultry business. 



Trap Nests. These are designed to distinguish 

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