HEN-NOUSE. 61 



which are nailed against the sides. This 

 should, however, be removed in the spring. 

 It is a practice with some to shut the fowls 

 out of the house entirely for two or three 

 weeks during the warmest weather, and take 

 advantage of that time to clean it out 

 thoroughly and renew the earth on the floor. 

 The disadvantages are, that it gets the fowls 

 into bad habits, such as roosting in the stable 

 among the horses, which should never be 

 permitted; indeed, there is a general im- 

 pression that hogs become sickly and pine 

 away in consequence of eating the dung of 

 fowls, which is dropped in their pen. 



We come now to the consideration of the 

 other apartment, which is designed for the 

 nests. This is but five feet wide, or just 

 wide enough to have two rows of nests all 

 round, and to permit a person to enter and 

 examine the nests. The upper tier is shel- 

 tered by a steep shed, to hinder the fowls 

 from roosting on it. The nests should be a 

 foot square, and well separated from each 

 other ; they should be filled with short-cut 

 oat-straw, which may be renewed two or 



