Position of Fowl House. 27 



farm, and as this is a plan we believe to be a most excellent 

 one, we shall deal fully with it ; but even then there will be 

 some buildings required near home, perhaps for breeding 

 pens, or, at any rate, for the chickens, and the ground thus 

 required should be fixed upon. Much after trouble, expense, 

 and annoyance will thus be saved, and the little forethought 

 required will be repaid many times over. 



It is not our intention to recommend that the runs for the 

 fowls should be laid out before the houses are built, for this 

 would be a most foolish plan, as the fencing, if any is 

 needed, and the carefully laid out ground would be damaged ; 

 but before building it is certainly advisable to have a clear 

 idea of where the houses are to be placed, and whether the 

 runs will be the most suitable ones. Nothing is easier than 

 to have a house built, to fence in a piece of ground, and to 

 put a dozen hens in it ; but whether it is in the best position 

 will have much to do with the result, so far as the produce 

 and health of the birds are concerned. So apparently slight 

 a matter as the house facing south or east will make a very 

 great difference in the supply of eggs ; and hence, the neces- 

 sity for care in the selection of the ground and position of 

 the house and run. Whenever anything else can be done, 

 and there are very few instances where this cannot be 

 arranged, the front of a house should never face north, north- 

 east or north-west ; or, at any rate, the doors and windows 

 should not look in any of these directions. We all know 

 how penetrating the winds are from these quarters, and 

 whilst they are blowing the house will be cold indeed, thus 

 acting unfavourably upon the laying and fattening qualities. 

 A house with a southern frontage gets all the sun there is 

 about — a most important matter in the late autumn, winter, 

 and early spring, when every ray that can be secured is oi 

 decided advantage. It almost surpasses belief the difference 

 in temperature between a house fronting north and one front- 



