l6 A POULTRY COMPENDIUM. 



ous plans. This is an admirable house for the farmer 

 to build. 



Next comes the yard. If you keep but one variety, 

 and can allow the fowls to run at large, no yard is 

 needed. But if you have more than one breed, which 

 you wish to keep' from intermixing, you must build a 

 yard, and the questions of size, height of fence, fencing 

 materials, and other details must be settled. 



Make your yard as large as you can afford to. The 

 larger the yard, the better your fowls will thrive. A yard 

 20x50 feet will answer for a flock of twenty fowls, and 

 you can keep that number in one-half the space, but they 

 will not do so well if thus crowded. The height of your 

 fence will depend upon the breed kept. Hamburgs, Leg- 

 horns and Games require a fence not less than six feet 

 in height, while eight feet is still better. The Asiatics 

 can be kept in a yard which would hold a pig. A fence 

 made of one length of lath and pointed on top will keep 

 Plymouth Rocks safely. You can build either permanent 

 or movable fences. The latter possess some very decided 

 advantages, as fresh soil for fowls is very desirable. 

 Movable fences are built in the form of the old Virginia 

 snake fence, by allowing the rails to project a little be- 

 yond the pickets. They can also be made in lengths 

 as shown in the following figures. 



Fig. 5 shows a length of fence with the posts. Fig. 

 6 show's a sharpened post, with the two hooks upon which 

 the fence rails are hung. The length of the post should 

 depend upon the character of the soil into which it is 

 to be driven. 



A very good permanent fence can be built by setting 



