206 



THE FARM. 



packing the fowl provide boxes, as they are greatly preferable to barrels. 

 Commence your packing by placing a layer of rye straw, that has been 

 thoroiigbly cleaned from dust, on the bottom of the box. Bend the head oi 

 the first fowl under it, as shown in our illustration (Fig. 1), and then lay it 

 in the left hand corner, with the head against the end of the box, with the 

 back up. Continue to fill this I'ow in the same manner until completed;, 

 then begin the second row the same way, letting the head of the bird pass up 

 between the rump of the two adjoining ones, which will make it complete and 



solid (see illustration, Fig. 

 2). In packing the last 

 row, reverse the order, 

 ]g| placing the head against the 

 end of the box, lotting the 

 feet pass under each other. 

 Lastly, fill tight with straw, 

 so that the poultry cannot 

 move. This gives a firmness 

 during transportation. Care should be 



PACKING POULTBY. — FIG. 1, 



in packing that will prevent moving 

 taken to have the box filled full. 



Poultry Raising as a. Business — Mr. P. H. Jacobs, a practical poul- 

 try man, writes as follows in the Ammcan Agricidturisi: A flock often hens 

 can be comfortably kept in a yard twenty feet wide by fifty deep. An acre 

 of ground will contain forty such yards, or four hundred hens. No cocks 

 a>rc necessary unless the eggs are desired for incubation. To cstmiate $1.50 

 ae a clear profit for each hen, is not the maximum limit, but the profit 

 accrues according to the management given. Poultry thrives best when 

 tunning at large, but this applies only to small flocks. Hens kept by the 

 Iiundi-ed become too crowded 

 ■vrhile at large, no matter how 

 ■v/ide the range, and sickness and 

 1 OSS occur. Large flocks must be 

 divided, and the size of the 

 yard required for a flock is of 

 but little importance compared 

 with that of the management. 

 There is much profit to be de- 

 rived from the sale of young 

 chicks — and, Avhere one pays 

 attention to the business — they 

 receive the greatest care. Each 

 brood, like the adult, is kept 

 separate from the others in a 

 little cooj), which prevents quarreling among the hens, and enables the 

 manager to count and know all about the chicks. This is very important, as 

 thei-e are many farmers who hatch scores of broods and yet cannot tell what 

 became of two-thirds of them. Hawks, crows, cats, rats, and other depreda- 

 tors take their choice, and the owners are no wiser. Each setting hen should 

 be in a coop by herself, and each coop should have a lath run. The critical 

 period is the forming of the feathers, which calls for frequent feeding, and 

 when they have passed that stage, the chicks become hardy. The houses 

 need not be more than eight feet square for each family, and can be doubled. 

 If possible, it is best to have changeable yards, but, if used, a less number 



PACKIKG POULTHY. — nO. 2. 



I 



