1 68 Profitable Poultry Keeping. 



prices. We prefer these to any others, especially to those made 

 in sets, as each one can be removed at any time for cleaning 

 purposes, and, consequently, vermin are not harboured. And 

 as a score boxes can be kept in one room without difficulty, 

 they answer all the purposes required. We do not approve of 

 hatching. nests in tiers, not only because they harbour insects, 

 but, also, because the air cannot circulate about the nests, as 

 it can in the boxes we have described. This is most im- 

 portant, and is sufficient to account for the non- success so 

 often found where the nest boxes are made in sets. 



Other plans can be adopted for hatching boxes. For 

 instance, we some time ago visited a very large poultry yard 

 and were surprised to see in use, in the hatching houses, 

 what to us was a new plan, but which at first did not appear 

 to be a good one. The hatching boxes were suspended to 

 the wall, about two feet above the ground, and were made so 

 that the hens could be securely shut in. The bottoms of 

 these boxes were pieces of wire netting stretched upon frames, 

 and removable, so that the inside could be properly cleaned 

 out. The nests were simply straw — no earth or grass sod, 

 or anything, but straw — and the owner informed us that dur- 

 ing the previous season, the success in these nests was greater 

 than in any other. His idea was taken from the nests 

 of wild birds, and he believed that free circulation of air, is 

 of the greatest importance for successful hatching. This 

 bears out what we have already said ; and whilst we cannot 

 now go so far as to recommend this system to all our readers, 

 yet there is undoubtedly something in it. Of course, there 

 are many who succeed well in hatching, with only plain boxes, 

 or even a couple of bricks ; but, where a number of hens are 

 to be set, this plan necessitates a separate place for every one, 

 which is not at all times possible. 



As already stated, where the hatching boxes recommended 

 by us are used, the floor should be covered with fine soil, or 



