The Illustrated Book of Poultry. 
i 2 
oi a noble shed sixty-five by twenty feet, floored with clean dry sand, and entirely devoted, in the 
early part of the year, to the raising of the younger chickens ; but the whole yard throughout offers 
the same ample accommodation, which was turned to the best account by her ladyship’s well- 
known superintendent, Mr. Frederick Wragg, formerly poultry-manager to Mr. R. Boyle. No 
other yard offers, even in proportion, nearly the same amount of shedding for the shelter of the 
fowls, and the result was seen in the magnificent condition which Lady Gwydyr’s birds always 
presented at shows, and which tells wonderfully in competition. The buildings alone at Stoke 
Park extend over a space about five hundred feet in length by a hundred and fifty feet in width. 
The portion of the plan shown on the left-hand page, in Fig. 8, is called the No. I, or “show ’ yard, 
being that to which Lady Gwydyr chiefly took her visitors ; and presents a very attractive appear- 
ance, honeysuckles and other climbers being trained over the front of many of the pens, and the 
grass-run which occupies the centre, and which is available for any of these pens, being decorated 
with ornamental shrubs, which also afford shelter to the fowls. The portion on the right Mr. 
Wragg considered more as his working yard, nearly all the young stock being confined to it ; but 
of course many of the “ crack ” birds were often to be found in the No. 2 yard, while much “ work ” 
was also done in the more showy portion of the establishment. 
No description can add much information to the copious index appended to the plans, and our 
explanations will therefore be very few. It will be seen that the entire buildings present nearly 
sixty separate pens of various sizes, of which the smaller are perhaps as useful as the others, for 
accommodating single cocks, sick fowls, or other purposes. The No. I yard consists mainly of a 
range of pens, surrounding a grass-plot ninety by seventy feet. Some of these pens are very large, 
and those numbered 8 to 12 inclusive have fully half their area covered by shedding. Scarcely any 
of the sheds at Stoke Park, it may here be remarked, are wired-in, but are open to the front, which 
is doubtless the best plan when furnished on the ample scale here found. The roosts to the pens 
numbered 15 to 19 are entered from the passage at the back, which also gives access to the small 
covered pens shown at 33 and 34. Each of these measures about eight by four feet, and is devoted 
to a single cock, whilst moulting, or at any time needing separate accommodation. The small 
grass-plots in front of these pens give each bird, if needful, a little more exercise. Passing to the 
No. 2 yard, the noble chicken nursery at 49 has already been alluded to ; adjoining are seen the 
store-room and cooking-house. Nos. 54 to 61 are nearly uniform pens, all shedded to the dotted 
line, or nearly two-thirds of their area, while 62 to 65, with the adjoining grass-plot, 53, are chiefly 
devoted to birds intended for show ; and at the time of our visit the sole tenant was the best dark 
Brahma cockerel we ever remember to have seen up to that time (represented in another part of 
this book), and which afterwards won all the honours of the year. The opposite side of this yard 
consists chiefly of duck-houses ; but the exhibition or pen-room will be noticed at 68. This is a 
room fifteen feet square, on two opposite sides of which are ranges of pens similar in size to those 
used at shows, the fronts beautifully made on the Birmingham model, of polished pine and wire. 
In these pens, as in Mr. Tudman’s yard, the selected birds are put for several days, both to 
accustom them to the confinement of exhibition, and also to see if, when penned, their matching 
and appearance is satisfactory, or if better can be done with the specimens at command. This 
room, and all the sheds and yards, except those portions which are in grass, are floored to the 
depth of about eight inches with fine dry sand, which is regularly raked and kept perfectly 
clean. In the dwelling-house, a room (numbered 44) was entirely devoted to the storage of eggs 
from the various pens, and decorated by a multitude of “ prize cards,” recording Lady Gwydyr’s 
triumphs at the various shows. 
Besides the formal pens, or yards, the meadows and shrubbery surrounding, and other out-door 
