44 GENERAL TREATMENT. 



themselves to the regulations of the establish- 

 ment. A day or two suffice to make them 

 acquiesce in all our wishes, and enable them to 

 recognise, without apparent difficulty, their re- 

 spective yards. Fowls seem to understand the 

 value of their hour's play, and lose no time, (the 

 trap once opened), in availing themselves of it; 

 they rush to the grass, and never cease picking 

 it, until driven home. Great care must be taken 

 that one set is put in before another is let 

 out; this demands hourly attention, as, by one 

 moment's carelessness in allowing breeds to mix, 

 hopes, for a whole season, may be destroyed. 

 If there are several yards of the same breed, 

 these, to save time, may be allowed to enjoy each 

 other's society during their run, but never let 

 out different varieties together. One single 

 mesalliance will ruin the purity of the breed 

 for the whole hatch of eggs, and even a second 

 hatch. At no season of the year should hens 

 be allowed to associate with the male bird of a 

 different variety, and if supereminent excellence 

 is desired, not even with an inferior one of the 

 same. 



