128 POULTRY-CRAFT. 



FEED TROUGHS should be kept clean. No sloppy food should be put in 

 them, nor should water ever be given in the feed trough. If only dry and 

 crumbly non-sticky foods are given in the troughs, it is little work to keep 

 them clean. 



DRINKING VESSELS should be rinsed as often as the water supply is renewed ; 

 and when rinsing with cold water fails to clean effectually, should be well 

 scrubbed with scalding water. 



Perfect dryness in a house is essential to the right kind of cleanliness. A 

 damp house cannot be kept clean. Dirt that is harmless when dry becomes 

 dangerously offensive when moist. 



Whitewash sweetens and purifies a house, besides making the light inside 

 much better on dark days. The usual practice is to whitewash once a year. 

 Some whitewash twice, or even oftener, but there is certainly something wrong 

 with the house or the poultryman if such frequent whitewashings are really 

 necessary. Dry, well built houses, kept clean, ought not to need whitewashing 

 oftener than once a year ; and that is as often as most poultrymen can afford 

 to do it. The most convenient time to whitewash is late in summer or early 

 in the fall. Whitewash made after the common method: i. e. lime slaked 

 in boiling water, then thinned to the proper consistency for applying, is gen- 

 erally used, and is nearly always applied with a brush, though some use white- 

 wash pumps. The disinfecting and purifying qualities of the wash are 

 improved by adding a spoonful of crude carbolic acid, diluted in about a pint 

 of water, to each pailful of wash. As an insecticide, whitewash has no per- 

 manent efficacy; it will kill what lice it reaches when first applied that is 

 all.* 



* NOTE. Those who wish to use a wash that will not rub off, will find the following 

 recipes good. They have been long in use, and were published in the form in which they 

 are given here in the American Poultry Yard: 



(i). "Slake in boiling water one-half bushel of lime, keeping it just fairly covered 

 with water during the process. Strain it to remove the sediment that will fall to the 

 bottom, and add to it a peck of salt dissolved in warm water; three pounds of ground rice 

 boiled in water to a thin paste ; one-half pound powdered Spanish whiting, and a pound 

 of clear glue dissolved in warm water. Mix the different ingredients thoroughly, and let 

 the mixture stand for several days. When ready to use, apply it hot. If a less quantity 

 is desired, use the same proportions." 



(2). " A good whitewash for use upon outside work may be prepared as follows : 

 Slake in boiling water one-half bushel of lime, and strain as before. Add to this two 

 pounds of sulphate of zinc and one pound of salt dissolved in water. If any color but 

 white is desired, add about three pounds of the desired coloring matter, such as painters 

 use in preparing their paints. Yellow ochre will make a beautiful cream color, and 

 browns, reds, and various shades of green are equally easily obtained." 



[The coloring matter used for whitewash should be dry; colors mixed in oil cannot be 

 used. The quantity of color needed would have to be ascertained by trial. The wash in 

 the pail will have a much deeper, darker shade than when dry ; so that to find out just 

 what the color is it is necessary to allow a little of it to dry.] 



(3). " Another excellent wash, lasting almost as well as ordinary paint, may be pre- 



