Portable Houses. 



57 



removal, it can be separate. The houses and shelters can 

 be with, or without floors, as may be preferred, but if the 

 soil is clay, or damp, it will be much better to have wooden 

 floors, though even when it is dry soil we much prefer not to 

 have them. Of course, in any case it will be necessary to see 

 that the houses are not placed in hollows, or, when it is 

 wet weather, they will be standing in pools of water. 



Movable houses of this kind have many great advan- 



Fig. 5. — Portable House. 



tages, but, of course, their use is limited to such as have 

 plenty of ground at command. In the first place, a much 

 larger number of birds can be kept than in a stationary 

 house, as the ground is fresh, and they can wander about 

 at their own free will. The fowls also cost less to keep, as 

 they are able to find a great portion of their own food in the 

 shape of worms, grubs, seeds, roots, and berries. There is 

 less expense for material, as fencing is not needed, and 



