204 PROFITS IN POULTRY. 
slightly covered with oid brush. These are often ex- 
posed to the attack of weasles and skunks, and other 
enemies, besides being unsightly. If there are no pre- 
pared nests they will seek the nearest bit of woods, or 
patch of brush, or fence-corner, where they can find 
shelter. The whole turkey crop for the year is put in 
jeopardy by this want of preparation for the laying and 
breeding season. By having a yard devoted to fruit 
trees and turkeys, and an open shed with sliding doors, 
you have complete control of the birds, their eggs and 
their young, during their tender age. The risk is re- 
duced to a minimum, and the turkey crop is as sure as 
any other raised on the farm. The nests under the 
shed should be about three feet square, and arranged 
with slats in the front so that the birds may be shut in 
or out at pleasure. The common A-shaped hen-coop 
on a larger scale, the peak of the gable being about 
three feet high, is a very good arrangement. If the 
turkeys are fed under the shed for a few weeks before 
the laying season, they will take kindly to the nests pre- 
pared for them. 
EARLY BROODS. 
Early broods are very desirable on several accounts, 
but there is a good deal of risk in having the chicks 
come out before the grass is well started, and there is 
settled weather. In the latitude of 40°, and northward, 
it is quite early enough to have the chicks out by the 
middle of May. Birds hatched from the middle of May 
until July 1st will have five or six months in which to 
grow before Thanksgiving, and that is as soon as they 
will be wanted for slaughter or to sell as stock. The 
cold storms of April and early May are likely to prove 
fatal to the chicks. The laying of the hens is very 
