40 THE BEGINNER IN POULTRY 



winds, yet in a sufficiently airy location. It is in shed 

 form, at least as far as being open on one side is con- 

 cerned, and it is placed in at least partial shade. In- 

 deed, if small, it may be movable, so that it may have 

 more shade as the season advances. To my mind, it 

 will be decidedly better without a board floor, provided 

 that you raise the dirt floor sufficiently ; storms must 

 not flood it with surface water. Dirt floors are usually 

 filled in to the top of the sills, when there are sills. 



The nests may be made in a series, half-a-dozen or 

 less being united. These are less trouble to move 

 about than the detached nests. An invalid might find 

 the detached nests better, because lighter to handle. It 

 is decidedly better to have the nests open at the front, 

 rather than at the top, as the hens often break eggs in 

 stepping down into the latter kind. To make a series, 

 seven-eighths by twelve-inch material may be used for 

 ends and partitions, half-inch stuff for the tops and 

 backs. Indeed, they may be all in skeleton form but 

 the back, if desired ; but in practice we find it better to 

 have the tops solid. A three-inch strip will make the 

 front firm enough, and retain the eggs. This is, of 

 course, nailed across the lower front of the series. One 

 may get almost the same results by using cheap cracker 

 or soap boxes, provided only that they can be had in 

 the right sizes. The size needed will vary with the 

 breed, but the general-purpose hen, weighing about six 

 pounds, will need a nest about seventeen or eighteen 

 inches long, and at least a foot deep. If the nest is 

 shallow from front to rear, the hen will sit sidewise al- 

 ways, but she cannot be so comfortable as in a nest 

 which permits her to assume any desired position. I 



