POULTRY-CRAFT. 55 
lengthwise, making two pieces each 
= i 5x8in. These are for the ends- 
s ° © s Cut the remainder of the board in 
two, lengthwise, making one piece 
i 44 in. wide, the other 54 in. wide. 
Fig. 40. Front of Reversible Nests, showing nests at 0 0, Nail the wide piece to the narrow 
open; at ss, closed. one; nail on the ends. Many poul- 
trymen use a shallow flat-bottomed box trough, 6 or 8 in. wide. A labor 
saving trough of this kind is made by using for the sides pieces 4 or 5 in. wide 
nailed at the middle to the edges of the 
bottom, thus making a reversible trough. 
A trough on the floor of a pen catches 
some litter and dust, which have to be 
removed before food is placed in it. 
This is usually effected, with an open 
trough, by turning it over. The revers- 
ible trough saves the movement of turn- 
ing the trough back — quite a saving in 
a year ona large plant. Fig. 41 shows 
two feed troughs designed to keep fowls 
from getting in the troughs and fouling 
the food with their feet. Such troughs i asec Ru 
should be used if soft food is allowed to stand before the fowls. In «a clean 
house and for fowls fed only what mash they will eat ‘* clean and quick,” the 
plain troughs are just as good. Those who want something nicer than the 
homemade trough of the practical poultryman will find several good feed 
troughs on sale. 
55. Drinking Vessels. — There are a number of different styles of drink- 
ing fountains made especially for fowls, on the market. Many poultry keepers 
prefer open drinking vessels. These may be of iron, galvanized iron, granite 
ware or tin. Objections to the use of tin drinking vessels because oxide of 
tin is a poison, are very far fetched. The amount of poison a fowl would take 
from the drinking water is infinitesimal. It is not advised to buy tin drinking 
vessels, —for in the end they are most expensive,— but often it is found 
convenient to use as drinking vessels tinware discarded for kitchen purposes. 
In a modern poultry house the water pans are placed on shelves, high enough 
from the floor to keep the “‘ rough” of the dirt out, either in the hall partitions 
or in partitions between pens. They are sometimes protected by slats, but 
such an arrangement does not favor dispatch in cleaning and refilling vessels. 
Devices of this kind are often strongly recommended by those accustomed to 
their use, though the benefits are, all things considered, questionable. No 
matter what arrangement is made to keep coarse dirt out of the drinking pans, 
the fine dust, which is the objectionable and more injurious dirt, settles in them, 
and should be removed as often as fresh water is given. 
