AMERICAN POULTRY CULTURE 
will have to be. Among these matters deserving 
special attention is that of the double necessity for 
Sanitation of keeping small yards in a perfectly 
Yards sanitary condition. Large yards may 
be purified both by cultivation and by the growing 
of crops on them. Small yards can be kept free 
from impurities only by cultivation. Fresh, dry 
loam is capable of deodorizing large quantities of 
droppings, and a small yard may be kept compara- 
tively clean in this respect if it is raked, spaded, 
or cultivated in some other way quite frequently. 
Whenever possible, the yards should be made of 
sufficient length and width to allow the use of a 
horse cultivator, as it is quite a task to cultivate 
by hand even a small plot a half-dozen or more 
times a year. Aside from the value of purifying 
the soil, it always is an advantage to supply green 
food for the fowls by growing grass or grain in 
the runs, which lessens the labor of supplying 
green stuff and the birds relish it more when they 
can eat it as it grows. 
Poultry fences may be either stationary or port- 
able. In the case of the latter, they had best be 
Construction made in sections of about twelve feet 
of Fences in length, with a base board and top 
board so that the fence will stand moving without 
harm. Picket and lath fences are practical only for 
small yards, and where good appearances are an 
object they may be attractively designed and 
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