THE IDEAL THAI' NEST 15 



TO PUT ON THE ATTACHMENT. 



The trap-plate should be secured to the inside of the front by a leu- 

 Wire screw, 1 1-2 inches long'. This screw should enter the front at a 

 point just 3-4 of an inch above the top of opening O, or 8 3-4 in. above 

 the bottom edge, and 1 inch from the side of the box, see fig. 8. 



When the box has tin; door in the back or a cover in the top, the 

 front is nailed on and the trap-plate, when closed, rests against the side 

 of the hox. When (he front is hinged to open as a door a small piece 

 of wood, 1 inch thick, 1 inch wide and 1 1-2 inch long, is nailed on to 

 the inside of the front to serve as a stop for the trap-plate, see W, fig. 8. 

 Two pieces of 1-2 inch stuff, one piece on top of the other, will answer. 



The trap-plate should be attached to the front so loosely that it will 

 fall back quickly when raised to its full height, and yet not so loosely 

 that the pawl will fall behind it when it is pushed inward by the hen. 



The pawl is also secured to the front so that it will move freely and 

 at such a point that the end of the pawl shall fit easily into the lower 

 notch in the trap-plate, -(N fig. 8), and at such a height that the top of 

 the pawl, (Z fig. 8), will be 3 1-4 inches above a point directly in line 

 with the lower edge of the hen opening O. If the trap-plate and pawl 

 have been properly hung the opening from X to Y (fig. 2) will he 

 about 2 1-2 inches wide when the trap-plate is down and the pawl will 

 tall from its raised position when this opening has been increased to 

 4 1-2 inches by raising the trap-plate (tig. 9). Should the breed be of 

 very small size, so that they can enter the box without opening the 

 trap-plate 4 1-2 inches, a strip of 1-2 inch stuff 6 inches long, should be 

 tacked on to the inside of the box at Z, fig. 2; the pawl will then fall 

 when the opening is 4 inches wide: or, if preferred, the curved recess 

 in the edge of the trap-plate need not be so large as that in the pattern 

 when the Ideal is to be used with Mediterraneans; for Asiatics of very 

 large size this recess may be made 1 inch deeper if desired. Both the 

 trap-plate and pawl should fall easily from any position when allowed 

 to drop, either quickly or slowly, as upon the correct working of this 

 trap-plate and pawl the accuracy of the trap depends. 



In this connection T will say that, should the poultry house he ex- 

 cessively damp, the seasoned wood of the trap-plate, pawl, or front of 

 box will swell and the attachment may stick, especially if the screws 

 have been put in too far — a common mistake. Should this happen the 

 offending screw must be loosened. When hanging the attachment a 

 little vaseline or oil on the screws will prevent rust and lessen the lia- 

 bility of trouble in very damp houses. It will also be well to try and 

 remedy the faults in the house that cause dampness, as damp poultry 

 houses are exceedingly bad abiding places for poultry. Of course the 

 nests are not designed to be run under wat er but they can be if the above 

 obvious expedients are adopted. 



