144 A COUNTRY READER. 



The best method of housing poultry is by 

 means of moveable houses that can be obtained 

 from the makers for a very small sum. These 

 houses are so built that they can be moved from 

 place to place. They contain a shelter under- 

 neath as a protector against rain and wind, 

 which also acts as a dust bath. The nest boxes 

 can be reached from the outside, so that the eggs 

 can be taken without going inside the house. 

 The perches are broad, and placed within two 

 feet of the floor. The floor is in two parts, so 

 that from time to time it can be taken up and 

 well scrubbed. The house is freely ventilated 

 from the top, and well lighted by windows. 

 Moving these houses about from place to place 

 prevents any one stretch of land being fouled, 

 a matter so essential to the fowl's health and the 

 well-being of the land. 



Fowls that are not too thick on the ground 

 will, by their droppings, manure the land, and 

 will keep down insects, and spread about the 

 droppings of farm animals, and scratch up moss, 

 and aerate the roots of the good grasses. 



Moveable houses can be moved about the grass 

 fields, placed on the ploughed land and stubble, 

 and in the summer the fowls housed in them will, 

 if not placed too thick on the ground, nearly find 

 their own living. 



The cottager, if he have a garden and under- 



