Care and Management of Poultry 347 
fenced if square, yet it could be more economically cultivated if 
oblong, say two rods wide and eight rods long. Whatever may be 
the form or size of the park, it should be remembered that the first 
requisite is cleanliness. This can be facilitated by frequent cul- 
tivation. Perhaps the ideal condition is to have one part of the 
park in permanent grass, and another part under cultivation. 
Where convenient, plum and apple orchards provide excellent yard 
facilities for poultry. This has one particular advantage in that it 
offers an abundance of shade which in warm latitudes is essential. 
QUESTIONS 
1. How many domestic fowls are there in the United States? How 
many in your state? In your county? How does your state rank with 
other states in the production of poultry? How does your county rank 
with other counties in the state? Name the ten leading poultry states. 
Which possesses the largest number to the square mile? To the farm? 
2. In selecting breeding fowls to improve the quality of the stock, what 
are the essential factors to be considered ? 
3. Which type of fowls provides the best sitting hens? Why? Why 
are artificial incubators and brooders inferior to hens in hatching and brood- 
ing chickens? Why are the incubators and brooders used? 
4. Which type of poultry house is the most desirable on the average 
farm? Why? 
5. Why should fowls that are closely confined be provided with a 
scratching-shed? Why is.free range beneficial to poultry? Which types 
require the largest area? Which types are the most difficult to confine ? 
Why? Are turkeys, ducks, and geese difficult to confine ? 
6. What diseases of poultry are most common in the region? What 
is the principal cause of such ailments? What is done to control them ? 
7. In nature, how many eggs does the hen lay ina season? In your 
region, how many eggs do the best hens lay in a season? The poor 
hens? What is the highest egg yield on record? Why is there such 
variation in the egg laying capacity of hens? 
8. How are eggs sometimes tested by egg dealers? How long will 
eggs remain fresh in summer? In winter? How long will eggs keep in 
