A COMMERCIAL POINT OF VIEW. 35 



7th. The stock must be fed regularly at sunrise and 

 the afternoon an hour before going to roost. 



The Laying Stock. 



I St. When it is intended to sell the eggs for consump- 

 tion it is advisable to pen hens up without a cock to 

 prevent the eggs being fecundated, as they will then 

 keep fresh much longer ; this system of keeping hens 

 by themselves has another great advantage, as they will 

 lay a great many more eggs during the year. 



2d. About twelve to eighteen hens can be kept to- 

 gether in a home, as shown by Fig. 4. 



3d. The eggs should be collected twice a day. 



4th. For feeding, the same rule applies as above ; and 

 the reason for selecting sunrise and afternoon for feed- 

 ing time is, that it is before and after the laying time, 

 during which the hens on their nest would get no food. 



The Chickens. 



1st. From the time they are hatched to the time 

 when they begin to roost, not more than twelve chickens 

 ought to be kept in one compartment, as they will hud- 

 dle together, and the weak ones either get crushed or 

 suffocated. 



2d. The place where the young chickens retire to 

 ought to have a dry floor, and be kept scrupulously 

 clean ; and as the floor is the coldest part of a room, 

 their roosting-box ought not to be more than twelve 

 inches high, and to be slanting, which will keep the 

 warm air in the roost. (See Fig. 14.) 



