108 
Tlie Poultry of the Farm. 
a most important season. Old liens are also undesirable ; there- 
fore a good stock of pullets should be obtained every year, as 
they lay earlier and better than hens. If possible, and if first- 
crosses are chiefly cultivated, a cock and some hens of pure 
breed should be placed at a shepherd's or some outlying cottage. 
As regards feeding, fowls in confinement require more food 
and attention. They do well on three meals a-day ; the first 
being one of soft food, soaked scraps, meal, potatoes, &c., given 
hot in winter and occasionally peppered ; next a feed of maize ; 
and for supper, as much light wheat as they will clean up : no 
waste of food should be permitted, it is bad for the birds as well 
as for the book. A mangold or green stuff will be appreciated, 
also old mortar rubble ; clean water must be within reach. 
When March winds prevail, shelter should be insisted on, or 
laying is checked, and hens become " blackheaded " and out of 
sorts. 
Farmyard fowls running amongst the straw or cattle require 
but little feeding and give but little trouble. One early meal of 
" tail-corn" will suffice, but about March many hens begin to 
show a disp osition to sit or become " broody." Now look out for 
squalls. 1 find no plan answer better than sitting-boxes, every 
hen being compelled to occupy her own nest and to leave her 
neighbour in peace. Our hens are taken out at the same hour 
every day, and after about a twenty minutes' run in pens 
prepared for their feeding and dusting, they are returned to 
their nests, and it is surprising how soon they settle down and 
allow themselves to be quietly handled. We generally put 
clay at the bottom of the nests, or sprinkle the eggs occasionally ; 
a little carbolic at the edge of the nest, or Hardeman's beetle- 
powder, is good for the hen because bad for the insects. A hen 
will cover from eleven to fifteen eggs, according to her size. 
Suitable boxes may be knocked up very cheaply : it matters 
not how rough, if the sides and partitions are close enough. A 
cover composed of strips of wood keeps the hens in peace and 
lets in the air. 
A stock of coops should be forthcoming on a farm every 
spring, as each winter they ought to be carefully washed, 
disinfected, and stored ready for use. The old-fashioned coop 
with a slanting roof to shoot off the wet, and with strong 
upright bars in the front, answers every purpose. It is well to 
have a close front wherewith to shut up securely by night, and 
the same board when let down may do for feeding on by day. 
A " feeder " to fit the coop is easily and inexpensively made of 
wood and wire ; into it the little chicken run to pick up the 
more dainty morsels which otherwise might be devoured or 
trampled on by the hen or carried off by sparrows. When 
