CROPS AND PROFITS 



"How to keepe egges long,"— "How to have 

 egges all winter," — "Of hennes that hatches 

 abroad, as in bushes,"— "Of turquie hennes, 

 profite and also disprofite." 



For winter eggs, he advises "to take the 

 croppes of nettles when ready to seed, dry 

 them, and mix them with bran and hemp- 

 seed, and give it to the hens in the morning, 

 and also to give them the seeds of cow- 

 make" (whatever that may be). I have never 

 ventured trial of his advices; but find full 

 supply in giving hens warm quarters — a 

 closed house, with double walls, and its front 

 entirely of glass; here, with water constantly 

 running, an ample ash box and gravel bed, 

 full feeding, — not forgetting scraps of meat, 

 and occasional vegetable diet — the hens make 

 a summer of the winter, and reward all care. 

 If the weather be very warm, they are allowed 

 a little run in the adjoining barn-yard (their 

 winter home being, in fact, a rustic transmuta- 

 tion of an ancient cow-shed). Any consider- 

 able chilliness of the atmosphere, however, — 

 if they are long exposed to it, — checks their 

 laying propensities, and two or three days 

 of housing are needed to restore the due equi- 

 librium. 



The Roman writers give us cruel hints in 



2T3 



