Practical Game-Preserving. 40 



through them the dread scourge enteritis may be intro- 

 duced. It is therefore necessary when making the selection 

 of the hens that the cleanest and healthiest birds should be 

 secured. Unless specially bred and reared for the pur- 

 pose, under conditions which preclude any possibility of 

 the germs of the disease existing amongst them, the foster- 

 hens must be selected from the cleanest and purest yards. 

 As a rule, hens coming from some of the country cottages 

 are much to be preferred to those from the farms, as the 

 conditions under which the former are reared and kept are 

 far more sanitary than those under which the latter are 

 maintained. Before the hens are set, their feet should be 

 washed and dipped into a 2 per cent, solution of carbolic 

 acid. This process should be repeated before the eggs 

 hatch out, and again occasionally after the broods are upon 

 the rearing-field. At the same time a very fine spray 

 should be thrown over the insides of the coops whilst the 

 chicks are absent. 



The necessity of following this advice closely will be 

 made more apparent when the chapter on diseases is 

 reached. 



