344 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Can the Hens' Home be made Attractive in Appear- 

 ance ? 

 Instead of being a blot on the landscape and a disgrace 

 to the farm, the poultry house and yards should be made 

 attractive to the eye. The shingles may be left to nature, 

 to be weather tinted in simple gray, or may with creosote 

 stain be given any color desired to harmonize with the sur- 

 roundings. The necessity of shade in summer gives oppor- 

 tunity for pleasing effects in the arrangement of trees and 

 vines in the yards and about the houses. Advantage may 

 be gained by the use of fruit-bearing plants for this purpose, 

 as is delightfully evidenced by a little poultry plant that I 

 happen to know of in East Greenwich, R. I. Without large 

 expenditure of capital, a number of neat poultry houses have 

 been grouped among the large, beautiful trees at the rear of 

 the dwelling-house. Fruit trees in the yards and grape- 

 vines trained upon the fences furnish an agreeable shade in 

 summer for the fine fowls, and an abundance of luscious fruit 

 in the autumn for the refreshment of the owner and the 

 numerous friends whom he delights to entertain. The effect 

 is very happy in several ways, but I make mention of this 

 aspect especially because of the pleasing harmonious part 

 which this little poultry plant makes in the landscape at 

 ♦' Paradise Farm." 



Breeding the Birds. 

 All the preparations for properly housing the flock having 

 been completed, next comes the momentous question of what 

 breed to select and where to get the best fowls to start with. 

 It is a problem for earnest study, and each poultry keeper 

 must work it out for himself. Consider the market, the 

 local conditions and your own likes and dislikes in the 

 matter. In New England one will not usually go far wrong 

 if he selects one of the so-called American breeds. The 

 Barred and White Plymouth Rocks and the White Wyan- 

 dottes are great favorites. Of more importance, however, 

 than the breed is the quality of the individual birds selected. 

 Every breed includes poor specimens, which would prove 

 unprofitable under even the best of conditions, and your nice 



