132 POULTRY-CRAFT. 
it is best to leave the small doors to the yards open, letting the hens run out 
as they choose — which will be in every lull of the storm. There is nothing 
more objectionable in the management of poultry than shutting them into close 
houses when it is not extremely cold; it makes and keeps them soft, and after 
a time they become more susceptible to moderate changes than rugged fowls 
are to severe changes. There is a vast difference between coddling fowls and 
taking such ordinary precautions to keep them healthy and comfortable as 
sensible persons learn to take for their own personal welfare. 
173. Late Culling of the Laying Stock. — It is a good plan, as inti- 
mated in the preceding paragraph, to watch the flocks closely during the fall, 
and cull out all birds easily affected by inclement weather. These should be 
put in condition to market for poultry. It is not worth while to nurse them 
along in the hope that they will eventually become profitable layers. The 
chances are against that; their presence in the flock is a standing invitation 
to diseases which, once having gained a foothold in a flock, are apt to become 
epidemic. Their room is worth more than the prospect of profit from them. 
174. Distempers and.Colds, Epidemic.— Changeable weather and 
continuous damp weather often make colds epidemic in the early fall. A 
common cause of colds and distempers is closing the houses too tight at night. 
Fowls that have been roosting in open 'sheds, or in the open air, are almost 
sure to take cold when moved into a warm, close house. When colds 
become thus epidemic, simple remedies should be used az once. A good 
condition powder, fed regularly in the daily mash, is often effective. 
Common hard soap, dissolved in water to the consistency of soft soap, a 
tablespoonful to a gallon of water, will clear the nostrils and throat, and also 
act as a mild purgative. Indeed, this hard soap remedy alone is one of the 
very best that can be used in mild forms of distemper. Colds may be 
partially prevented, the system fortified against them,—by feeding onions 
liberally; also by feeding in the mash red peppers, dried, chopped fine. If 
these can be obtained they are to be preferred to ground red pepper 
(capsicum). It is of first importance to learn to what cause the colds are 
due, and, if possible, to remove the cause. (Often colds are due to prevent- 
able causes). Treatment cannot be thoroughly effective while the cause remains. 
175. What to Do When it Snows.— No matter how good the in-door 
accommodations for the hens, it is best to get them out doors for at least a 
little while on every day when that is not utterly impossible. Except in 
extreme northern sections it is not very difficult when snow comes, to keep 
it cleared away from a strip six to eight or ten feet wide along the south side 
of each house. Where snow does not lie long there is a temptation to wait for 
the sun to take it off. Don’t indulge the temptation.” The less fowls are 
necessarily kept confined in winter the more urgent it is that they shall not be 
shut in longer than is needful. They feel and are affected more by restraint 
when it is of rare, than when it is of common occurrence. There is no need 
