THE TRAP-NEST 



97 



The door promptly drops down, without noise and without fright- 

 ening the hen. The double box, with the nest to the rear end, is 

 necessary, as when a bird has laid and desires to leave the nest she 

 steps to the front and remains there till released. With one section 

 only she might crush the egg by standing upon it. 



One word of caution : It is well to have nests enough, because 

 the hens must be coaxed to lay, and when they are ready they must 

 not be kept waiting. If a hen is dissatisfied with her nest she may 

 hold her egg for twenty-four hours, and in time be taught to lay 

 only every two or three days. It is wise to encourage the hens to 

 lay, and I have found these trap-nests are much liked by the hens 

 whilst others that I bought frightened them and prevented them 

 laying, entirely defeating the object of the nest, which is more eggs 

 and better hens. 



There is not any patent on this nest ; any one is at liberty to 

 make and use it, as it is the original trap-nest made by the Maine 

 Experimental Station, slightly altered. 



