POULTRY. 209 



Let every member of our society who may have a farm or 

 garden contribute a coop of poultry, and it will surpass any 

 poultry exhibition ever held in this country. 



Your Committee recommend that at the next annual exhibi- 

 tion contributors make a statement of the cost and income of 

 some of the leading varieties. 



Considerable having been written in former reports about the 

 best breeds of poultry, we take the liberty this year to make the 

 following suggestions in regard to the management of poultry. 



In locating a hen-house select a southerly aspect, that the hens 

 may enjoy the sunshine in cold weather. IMake the house so 

 that it can be well ventilated in warm weather and be warm in 

 cold weather. It should be well lighted, and so arranged as to 

 admit plenty of air in the summer. A house may be built in 

 the south side of a bank or hill, in a dry location. 



Hens that are kept to lay should be fed well, but not overfed. 

 Give them oats, barley, buckwheat and Indian coru. Give 

 them boiled potatoes, mashed while hot; stir in wheat bran and 

 barley meal. This makes the very best feed for chickens. In 

 winter keep constantly by them old mortar, ground oyster shells 

 and ashes. Teed green food, such as cabbage, potatoes and 

 turnips, and you will have plenty of eggs. 



The croup is one of the most destructive of diseases that at- 

 tacks the feathered family, and generally by being closely con- 

 fined in damp houses and improper care. Allow chickens pure 

 air, pure food and pure water, and they will be seldom sick. 

 By all means whitewash the hen-house in the spring and fall. 

 Put much salt in the whitewash, fill all the cracks with the 

 wash, and all trouble from vermin will be gone. 



Turkeys in bad weather should have a dry shelter ; a damp- 

 ness is destructive to them. The curd of milk and hard-boiled 

 eggs are very good. Indian meal may be given after they are a 

 few weeks old, and boiled potatoes mixed with shorts and meal 

 are very good food. They are great ramblers, and cannot well 

 bear confinement. In good weather they do better to let them 

 range in the air and seek their food. Turkeys will thrive best 

 in warm, dry seasons. 



Ducks should have clean, pure water — not a mud hole — to 

 swim in ; a running brook is best. If that cannot be had, make 

 a little artificial pond. It can be done with little expense. 



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