308 HOME LIFE IN FLORIDA. 



wire-clotli stretched over it to form the sides and ends, and 

 broad, overlapping eaves, with perches well up toward the 

 roof, to avoid all driving rains, would serve the purpose 

 admirably in our mild Florida climate, with the proviso 

 that one side, which should always face toward the north- 

 west in winter and the southwest in summer, be lined with 

 some sun-proof and wind-proof material, the former in sum- 

 mer, the latter in winter. Quarter-inch boards, set sloping 

 against the side, are good for this purpose, and also afford 

 outside shelter during the day. 



Where several movable poultry-houses of this sort are 

 desired, it is not necessary that each one should have its 

 own set of wheels; one set will do the work, if placed on 

 a platform, or truck, large enough to carry the poultry- 

 house, which, in this case, must be provided with a sound 

 board floor of its own ; the truck being low, it Avill not be 

 difficult to slide the house on or off. 



Another kind of movable poultry-house is made of slat- 

 ted or wire-cloth sides, joined by the same method employed 

 for the movable fence already described (the post and sta- 

 ple ends), the roof being like that of the triangular house. 

 It is not our province here to enter in detail upon the 

 proper care of poultry as regards food, cleanliness, and 

 their sequence, health, or otherwise. We shall touch only 

 briefly upon these points, leaving it to the numerous works 

 devoted especially to this object to enlighten those Avho 

 desire further information. 



One of the most important adjuncts to successful chick- 

 en-raising is pure water. Very few realize the extent of 

 the mischief done their fowls by allowing them to drink 

 warm, dirty, or impure w^ater ; their drinking trough should 

 be always in the shade and so arranged that they can only 

 gain access to it for its legitimate purpose, not jump into 

 it, or scratch dirt into its midst. 



