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scratch in the gravel, and a hen house (with a floor) con- 

 nected with it, which they can enter at night or in 

 stormy weather. This house should contain large win- 

 dows or glass sides to admit the sun in winter, and it 

 will be better if it can face the south, and be protected 

 on the cold side by some other building or warm structure. 



But if this henery should be warm in winter, it also 

 should not be too warm in summer. It is therefore nec- 

 essary to have some simple means of ventilation, and 

 this should be at the top if possible. Drafts of air across 

 the hen-house should be avoided, as they are injurious 

 to the birds. 



The hen-house should be kept clean always, and if 

 possible, sweet. All stinks are unwholesome to fowls, 

 and it is not good for them to roost over accumulations 

 of their own excrement. It is a good plan to place un- 

 der their roosts, say two feet down, a gutter made of two 

 boards, each six or seven inches wide, and nailed togeth- 

 er at the edges. The excrement will lodge here and 

 may be scraped out every day or two, dried in the sun, 

 and then put into a barrel for sale. If the dung is )put 

 in a barrel fresh it becomes offensive, and, in warm 

 weather, maggoty. The hen-house should be frequentl}' 

 and thoroughly whitewashed to keep off and destroy lice. 

 This is indispensable. 



The roosts should be made rather large and somewhat 

 rough to help the grasp of the fowls. Poles covered 

 with the bark are good. The heavier and more clumsy 

 birds, like the Brahma Pootra variety, like to roost on a 

 board, say four inches wide, and not over eighteen inches 

 from the floor. The lighter and more active sorts will go 

 as high as they can get. But there should be small lad- 

 ders, or boards with cleats, for the fowls to walk up on, 



