POULTRY ON FARMS. 103 



land. In some cases it may be well to keep them off 

 shallow-sown seeds for a fortnight ; but as a rule, if the seed 

 is properly drilled, and the fowls duly fed, they will not 

 touch it, but confine their ravages to insects and larvx. 

 They may crop a little green food ; but even this may be 

 almost prevented by letting a strip of grass grow around 

 their house, and in any gase the damage will be infinitesimal, 



*"ij- 25. Cheap Poultry-houses for the Farm. 



unless the farm, or that part of it, is " over-stocked " with 

 them. A dozen per acre are the outside to be kept in this 

 way ; and the largest field should have no more than thirty 

 in one flock. Generally a few yards of netting used judi- 

 ciously here and there, to eke out other fencing, will keep 

 the flocks separate. 



The houses may be of any cheap and handy form ; but 

 that shown in Fig. 25 was given us by a practical man as 

 the cheapest he had tried of several. The main feature is 

 the triangular section. It is constructed either of match- 

 board, or rough slabs with the joints covered by caulking- 



