46 POULTRY-YARD. 



hens which are disposed to sit, to furnish 

 them with the proper number of eggs, or, 

 if required, to prevent them from sitting al- 

 together. 



We have now, at a small expense, a 

 complete enclosure, and it remains for us 

 to specify such fixtures as are required for 

 their comfort and wants ; and this naturally 

 leads us to the consideration of their food. 

 Fowls are said, in the books of natural his- 

 tory, to be granivorous, or feeding exclu- 

 sively on grain. or seed; and for this the 

 structure of their stomachs, or gizzards, 

 seems particularly adapted. In a state of 

 domestication, however, the case, as we all 

 know, is widely different. They are, in 

 fact, omnivorous, and eat indiscriminately 

 vegetables, meat, berries, fruit, seed, fish, 

 or any fatty substances. 



In the ordinary way, farmers are accus- 

 tomed to suffer their poultry to provide for 

 themselves, and scarcely ever trouble them- 

 selves to feed them, unless in very inclem- 

 ent weather, and when the ground is cover- 

 ed with snow. This is, however, a nig 



