316 
REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF POULTRY.NO. 2. 
house, Mr. Pugh’s is 40 by 340 feet, with an ex¬ 
tensive cane shed at one end, laid with iron rails, 
for cars to bring up the'cane from where the carts 
drop it, to the cane carrier, which elevates it about 
fifteen feet to the mill, from which the bagasse falls 
into carts, and the juice runs to the vats, where it 
is cleansed by the “ Spansenburg process,” and 
thence runs to the kettles; thence to the coolers, 
and from there the sugar is carried upon railroad 
cars along lines of rails between the rows of hogs¬ 
heads to the farther end of the building. 
In a country where labor-saving machinery is so 
rarely seen, the excellent arrangements here are 
more worthy of attention. 
Then, again, at the stable, we find another rail¬ 
road labor-saving contrivance, that might well be 
copied by nine hundred and ninety-nine other 
planters. The stable is 40 by 230 feet, divided 
into 62 stalls, each seven feet wide. The mules 
all stand with their heads to the centre passage, 
seven feet wide, through which a railroad car 
brings corn and fodder from the corn house an¬ 
nexed at one end, and the animals are fed with a 
very small amount of labor. Behind the mules, 
upon each side, there is a good passage way, and 
each animal soon learns to know his place, where 
he is fastened by a broad strap around the neck, 
and a stout chain made fast to the stall so that it 
is always there. All the feeding is done by one 
careful hand, who is held responsible that every¬ 
thing appertaining to the stable is as it should be. 
This is a much better arrangement than trusting 
every Tom, Dick, and Harry, to feed the ani¬ 
mal he has been using; and just a trifle superior 
to the very common practice of turning horses and 
mules all together into “ the lot,” to eat corn and 
fodder all from one trough, and at the same time 
keep up a constant fight over it. For it is a truth 
that many a plantation has not a stable upon it. 
This is perhaps more the case in Mississippi than 
in Louisiana. But there are plenty of planters in 
both states who might profit by a visit to Mr. 
Thomas Pugh. 
REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF POULTRY.— 
No. 2. 
Range and Domestic Accommodation of Poultry. 
—Whatever number or breed of fowls one may 
have selected for keeping, provision must be made 
for their comfort and safety. Those attached to 
farm houses lead, in many respects, a happy life. 
They have good air and plenty of room, and gene¬ 
rally with no lack of food. They wander about 
the farm yard, the orchard, and the lawn, visit the 
adjacent gardens and fields, travel over the pastures, 
through the highways or lanes, troop around the 
barn, and enjoy total freedom. To the advantage 
of pure air, they usually have that of pure water, 
and the opportunity of varying their diet by pick¬ 
ing up insects and their larvae; and a store of peb¬ 
bles, gravel, old mortar, and other calcareous matter, 
which they require, is always at their command. 
So far, they lead a comfortable and natural life; 
but how are they housed at night % In many in¬ 
stances, in a proper and well-built poultry house, 
with perches judiciously arranged, with boxes lined 
with straw for the laying and sitting hens; but 
often in places utterly unfitted for them. For in¬ 
stance, numerous flocks of hens will be lodged 
under the roof of some large, open shed, above 
the cattle, wagons, or carts, which receive an abun 
dance of their droppings; others take shelter in 
the barns, stables, cider mill, pig pen, out-houses, 
&c., while not a few may be found roosting on the 
branches of some favorite tree. This want of order 
cannot be too strongly condemned, as hens, having 
no proper laying places, select such situations as 
chance may offer them, not unfrequently in obscure 
places of concealment, so that their eggs are 
devoured by vermin or are lost. 
Those who intend to rear fowls, should have a 
distinct yard, with a warm aspect, well fenced, se¬ 
cure from vermin and thieves, sufficiently inclined 
to be always dry, and supplied with gravel, old 
mortar, (not quick lime,) or chalk, brick dust, and 
with sand or ashes for the fowls to bask or roll in. 
If possible, a stream of running water should pass 
through the yard; but if this cannot be done, a 
trough filled with fresh water every morning may 
be substituted. A want of water, of which all 
kinds of poultry are fond, produces constipation of 
the bowels and inflammatory diseases. A contigu¬ 
ous field or pasture, however, whenever it can be 
had, would in all cases be preferred. 
A fowl house should be dry, well roofed, and 
fronting the east or south; and if practicable, in a 
cold climate, it should be provided with a stove or 
some other means for heating—warmth being very 
conducive to health and laying, though extreme 
heat has the contrary effect. The dormitory, or 
roost, should be well ventilated by means of two 
lattice windows, at opposite ends of the building, 
and it would be desirable to have one or more 
apertures through the roof for the escape of foul 
air. The sitting apartment, also, should be well 
ventilated by means of a large lattice window, in 
the side of the house, and holes through the ceil¬ 
ing, or roof. If kept moderately dark, it will con¬ 
tribute to the quietude of the hens, and thus favor 
the process of incubation. The sitting room should 
be provided with boxes or troughs, well supplied 
with fresh water and proper food for the hens, dur¬ 
ing the hatching period, from which they can partake 
at all times, at will. The laying room, in winter, 
should have similar boxes or troughs, containing 
old mortar, broken oyster shells, brick dust, gravel, 
and ashes, as well as a liberal supply of proper 
drink and food. The perches, or roosting poles, 
should be so arranged that one row of fowls should 
not rest directly above another. They should be 
so constructed as to enable the fowls to ascend and 
descend by means of ladders, or steps, without mak¬ 
ing much use of iheir wings; for, heavy fowls fly 
up to their roosts with difficulty, and often injure 
themselves by descending, as they alight heavily 
upon the ground. 
Where the fowls have the range of an orchard, 
or a wide, dry, sandy pasture, or field, and are able 
to procure clean water, a good poultry house is all 
that is essential, though even then an enclosure, or 
yard, is desirable for the safety and better manage¬ 
ment of the young broods. It should be open and 
airy, its soil dry, and sheltered from cold, wintry 
winds. A simple shed, moreover, should be 
erected in some suitable spot, in order to afford a 
screen to the fowls from the hot rays of the mid- 
