136 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 



so nearly as possible of the same age. None of them should 

 be more than ten days old ; and the reason why they should 

 be of about the same date is, that they may be hatched simul- 

 taneously. Select eggs of average size and ordinary shape. 

 Give the hen a quiet place to sit, and take care that she be not 

 disturbed. In twenty-one days (sometimes a day or two earlier 

 in warm weather) a good sitter will bring out the chicks. The 

 first day after hatching they do not want food and should be 

 left in the nest. The next day they may be put into a good 

 coop in a dry, sheltered situation, and fed with coarse corn- 

 meal mixed up with water, hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, or 

 fresh curd. Feed a little at a time and often, and beware of 

 overfeeding. When a little older, cracked corn, millet, wheat, 

 barley, etc., may be fed to them. Have plenty of pure water 

 in a shallow dish (so that they may drink without getting into 

 it and wetting their feathers) always before them. After five 

 or six days they may be allowed to range at will outside of the 

 coop, but should not be allowed to come out while the dew is 

 on the ground. When two or three weeks old, or, indeed, 

 with the hardier breeds much earlier, the hen may be permit- 

 ted to lead them out. The most important caution now is to 

 guard them well against sudden unfavorable changes of tem- 

 perature, and especially against cold rain-storms. 



16. The Poultry Pentalogue. Somebody in England has 

 written a little work which he calls the " Poultry Pentalogue," 

 in which the whole art of fowl-breeding is summed up in five 

 grand rules : 



1. Pure breed ; 



2. A constant infusion of fresh blood, and the careful avoid- 

 ance of in-and-in breeding ; 



3. A varied diet ; 



4. Equable temperature ; and 



5. Strict cleanliness. 



Good rules and easily remembered. We commend them to 

 our readers, who may profitably apply them to other stock 

 besides fowls. 



