POULTRr-CRAFT. 31 



24. Situation. Soils. A sandy soil suits poultry best. A wet, heavy, 

 clay soil is most unsuitable. A soil containing much alkali is to be avoided 

 because of its bad effect on the skin and plumage. A sandy site is, in general, 

 well drained, and is easily kept clean. Droppings falling on a porous sandy 

 soil are at once deodorized by absorption of their liquids, the remaining solids 

 are disintegrated and carried below the surface by rains ; falling on clayey soil 

 they form a crust on the surface, making it very foul. Between light sandy 

 and heavy clay soils is a wide range and many kinds of soil, varying in 

 suitability for poultry keeping as they approach to or depart from these 

 extremes. Fowls are oftenest kept on medium soils, these being most 

 common. Such soils are easily purified by occasionally spading or plowing 

 the yards. Sometimes the same end is gained, and a regular supply of green 

 food furnished the fowls, by an arrangement of alternate yards, which makes 

 it possible to grow a green crop in one yard while the fowls are confined to 

 the other. When fowls are kept on rather heavy soil, the surface should be 

 graded to secure complete surface drainage, and as much as possible of the 

 runs should be in permanent grass. It is advised to remove the earth in the 

 house floors, replacing it with a few inches of sand or sandy loam over a bed 

 of gravel. Made ground composed largely of rubbish, is most unsuitable for 

 poultry. In hot damp weather the decomposed matter breeds disease germs, 

 which cause epidemics. This condition persists for a long time after the 

 making of the ground, and accounts for many mysterious outbreaks of disease. 

 Ground of this kind is common in large cities and their suburbs. Poultry 

 keepers should avoid it on their own account, and because of its possible effect 

 on fowls. 



25. Situation. Drainage. The site of a poultry house or plant should 

 always be well drained. Water standing at the surface attracts filth. On 

 ill-drained land one has bad footing while doing his work, and the work is 

 consequently much harder. These are the things which first become apparent 

 in a poorly drained place. More important than either, is the fact that the 

 poultry house cannot be kept as dry as it should ; any degree of continuous 

 dampness is objectionable. A high site, hill, knoll, or slope is usually 

 recommended, but ground level or in a depression is not altogether objection- 

 able if well drained. 



26. Situation. Exposure. Shelter. Poultrymen prefer a site on a 

 gentle slope facing south or southeast. It is desirable that the buildings 

 receive the sunlight as long as possible on winter days, and be sheltered from 

 cold winds. The lack of such natural advantage in a situation may be made 

 good, as far as shelter from wind goes, by growing evergreens where they 

 will serve as wind-breaks. A house placed where it does not get the sunlight 

 is unfit for fowls. If it gets the sun for only a few hours daily it may be 

 used. In such case it is most satisfactory to keep fowls only for family use, 



