FARM ANIMALS 365 



convenient hiding places. It is essential in the construc- 

 tion of the poultry house that all the furnishings should 

 be movable, so that they may be taken out and cleaned 

 frequently. A platform made to catch the droppings 

 may be conveniently placed under the perches and the 

 nests made under this. The floor of the house should 

 be dry and tight, but ventilated underneath. Wood 

 is better for floors than cement or earth, being drier 

 and warmer. The amount of space required by each 

 fowl depends upon whether there is a shed attached to 

 the house or whether the fowls have free access to the 

 open fields. If either of the latter conditions prevails, 

 about 5 square feet of surface for each fowl is sufficient, 

 but in the former case, double the space should be pro- 

 vided. Good ventilation is necessary, but draughts are 

 injurious to hens. 



Diseases. Poultry are subject to many diseases, 

 such as gapes, caused by worms in the windpipe ; cholera, 

 a germ disease, therefore contagious ; roup, sometimes 

 called the winter disease. Lice afflict poultry, frequently 

 breeding on their bodies, and mites, which suck their 

 blood, often infest the walls, roosts, and nests. Clean- 

 liness is one of the surest preventives of both disease 

 and vermin. 



Breeds of Fowls. Fowls are variously classified, 

 according to their tendency to produce flesh or eggs, 

 according to their tendency to become broody, and ac- 

 cording to their origin geographically. 



The most useful classification is the first one men- 

 tioned, the tendency to produce a meat or an egg prod- 

 uct. This gives four classes of fowls : the egg breeds, 

 those that are kept primarily for egg production; the 

 meat breeds, those that are kept principally for their 



