12 The Illustrated Book of Poultry. 



of a noble shed sixty-five by twenty feet, floored with clean dry sand, and entirely devoted, in the 

 early part of the year, to the raising of the younger chickens; but the whole yard throughout offers 

 the same ample accommodation, which is turned to the best account by her ladyship's well-known 

 superintendent, Mr. Frederick Wragg, formerly poultry-manager to Mr. R. Boyle. No other yard 

 offers, even in proportion, nearly the same amount of shedding for the shelter of the fowls, and the 

 result is seen in the magnificent condition which Lady Gwydyr's birds always present at shows, and 

 which tells wonderfully in competition. The buildings alone at Stoke Park extend over a space 

 about five hundred feet in length by a hundred and fifty feet in width. The portion of the plan 

 shown on the left-hand page, in P'ig. 8, is called the No. i, or "show" yard, being that to which 

 Lady Gwydyr chiefly takes her visitors ; and presents a very attractive appearance, honeysuckles 

 and other climbers being trained over the front of many of the pens, and the grass-run which 

 occupies the centre, and which is available for any of these pens, being decorated with ornamental 

 shrubs, which also afibrd shelter to the fowls. The portion on the right Mr. Wragg considers more 

 as his working yard, nearly all the young stock being confined to it ; but of course many of the 

 "crack " birds are often to be found in the No. 2 yard, while much "work" is also done in the more 

 showy portion of the establishment. 



No description can add much information to the copious index appended to the plans, and our 

 explanations will therefore be very few. It will be seen that the entire buildings present nearly 

 sixty separate pens of various sizes, of which the smaller are perhaps as useful as the others, for 

 accommodating single cocks, sick fowls, or other purposes. The No. i yard consists mainly of a 

 range of pens, surrounding a grass-plot ninety by seventy feet. Some of these pens are very large, 

 and those numbered 8 to I2 inclusive have fully half their area covered by shedding. Scarcely any 

 of the sheds at Stoke Park, it may here be remarked, are wired-in, but are open to the front, which 

 is doubtless the best plan when furnished on the ample scale here found. The roosts to the pens 

 numbered 15 to 19 are entered from the passage at the back, which also gives access to the small 

 covered pens shown at 33 and 34. Each of these measures about eight by four feet, and is devoted 

 to a single cock, whilst moulting, or at any time needing separate accommodation. The small 

 grass-plots in front of these pens give each bird, if needful, a little more exercise. Passing to the 

 No. 2 yard, the noble chicken nursery at 49 has already been alluded to ; adjoining are seen the 

 store-room and cooking-house. Nos. 54 to 61 are nearly uniform pens, all shedded to the dotted 

 line, or nearly two-thirds of their area, while 62 to 65, with the adjoining grass-plot, 53, are chiefly 

 devoted to birds intended for show ; and at the time of our visit the sole tenant was the best dark 

 Brahma cockerel we ever remember to have seen up to that time (represented in another part of 

 this book), and which afterwards won all the honours of the year. The opposite side of this yard 

 consists chiefly of duck-houses; but the exhibition or pen-room will be noticed at -68. This is a 

 room fifteen feet square, on two opposite sides of which are ranges of pens similar in size to those 

 used at shows, the fronts beautifully made on the Birmingham model, of polished pine and wire. 

 In these pens, as in Mr. Tudman's yard, the selected birds are put for several days, both to 

 accustom them to the confinement of exhibition, and also to see if, when penned, their matching 

 and appearance is satisfactory, or if better can be done with the specimens at command. This 

 room, and all the sheds and yards, except those portions which are in grass, are floored to the 

 depth of about eight inches with fine dry sand, which is regularly raked and kept perfectly 

 clean. In the dwelling-house, a room (numbered 44) is entirely devoted to the storage of eggs 

 from the various pens, and is decorated by a multitude of " prize cards," recording LadvGwydyr's 

 • triumphs at the various shows. \0 



Besides the formal pens, or j^ards, the meadows and shrubbery surrounding, and other out-door 



