POULTRY AND LARGE BIRDS, 371 
are kept confined it is important that the requisite water be afforded with- 
out incurring the disadvantages of low, damp, ill-drained, stagnant, or 
heavy, clayey soil. It is desirable, of course, that the inclosure for water- 
fowls be located on the brink of a natural body of water, but in the absence 
of this, an artificial font or pond may be made. 
When perches are required, as for chickens, turkeys and Guinea-fowls, 
they should be so arranged as to be out of the way of the droppings and 
not so high from the ground as to injure the birds, if fat and clumsy, when 
flying down from the roost. 
Light and VentilationLight is absolutely essential to health. If 
possible, the shelter should be so constructed that every nook shall occa- 
sionally be exposed to the action of direct rays of the sun. Caution is req- 
uisite in this, however, as in most other good things, and shade should be 
provided so that the fowls may resort to it whenever they are disposed, 
particularly in hot weather. 
In consequence of the unusually active circulation and respiration of 
fowls, deleterious exhalations are rapidly thrown off and remain in the air 
in invisible but poisonous particles. It is, therefore, imperative that every 
corner and cranny ofthe apartment be within reach of freely-circulating 
air. Yet equal precautions should be taken against excessive wet and too 
sudden colds, for fowls will take cold ina draught as well as human beings, 
particularly at night. A cool house, perfectly ventilated, without direct 
draughts, is desirable in this matter. In some seasons a poultry-house 
should have as limited walls as practicable. In summer a roof is all that is 
needed. Twine or wire netting makes a good partition. 
Cleanliness.—The marked tendency of filth to induce epidemics em- 
phasizes the demand for strict cleanliness. In the eradication of exhalations 
and insects the attention must not be confined to the housings. The yard 
should be changed at times, if possible, and should, at any rate, be treated 
as here directed, while strict measures are taken with all outdoor roosts, 
Dry earth, such as dust in the highways of the country and small towns (in 
cities it contains too much offensive matter), should be spread on the bot- 
tom of all inclosures to catch and disinfect the droppings. Of rather less 
merit are coal-ashes, dried muck, land plaster and powdered gypsum. Be- 
fore the accumulation becomes offensive, or even very copious, the whole 
should be removed and stored away, it being a superior fertilizer. At 
regular intervals the ground of the poultry-run should be spaded up several 
inches deep, the dirt being used for the garden, and the soil being replaced 
with a fresh supply. When the poultry-yard is extensive, plowing will 
obviously be more economical than spading. Remember that the soil will 
tenaciously hold the germs of disease. 
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