134 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Mat 27. 
minutes the outside of the hive felt quite warm), are earlier 
still, whilst those placed in a greenhouse are earlier than 
either, but the earliest are those covered with fermenting 
stable litter —yes, literally placed in the centre of a hotbed, 
leaving only a passage for the ingress and egress of the 
bees; drone bees have been seen issuing from this hive for 
some time past, and a swarm is now (May 12th) looked for 
from it daily. 
PHEASANTS. 
Lex me offer a few preliminary directions for the con¬ 
struction of hen-coops, with remarks for the further benefit 
of my readers ; and although not strictly bearing upon the 
matter of pheasants, they are, notwithstanding, more or less 
blended with it. I have a double object in thus descanting, 
for whenever I throw a stone, I consider it reasonable to hit 
two birds if one can. • 
The observations may be taken as generally applicable to 
poultry: hints, by the way, for all persons who possess 
choice and valuable breeds of the latter; whereby that very 
disagreeable feeling disappointment, may, I almost venture 
to say, be allowed to turn on the pivot of success, by adopt¬ 
ing a method deducible from the management I am about 
to point out relative to the former. 
No. 1 is a coop combining nearly, if not entirely, all that 
Roofed part, 2 feet square, 15 foot high in front; 9 inches high behind. 
Latticed part, 4 feet long, 2 feet wide, 1 foot high. 
is recommendable for the safe housing and protecting 
pheasants in their young and tender state ; it almost speaks 
for itself, but I shall have something further to state about 
it anon. 
A fatting-coop for fatting, by consequence of the bountiful, 
though not extravagant, system of feeding we resort to, I 
am compelled to own is a needless structure, for those 
fowls which we do not put up to fatten, are in the majority 
of instances quite as well up in condition when killed, as 
those which we do. I will in passing just offer a consi¬ 
deration for those who have extensive premises, and allow 
their half-starved poultry to exercise the flesh off their 
bodies through a false economy, and insisting upon their 
seeking for themselves a precarious and uncertain means of 
subsistence, to be varied probably, at last, by an extravagant, 
unnatural method of feeding and cramming. Would not 
those fowls which are allowed a sufficiency of corn food at 
stated intervals, with green vegetation, and clean water at 
pleasure, be quite equal in condition, juiciness, and more 
natural-flavoured, subject to no more expense in the sequel, 
nor so much trouble, and far less liable to disease, than 
those of their fasting or feasting compeers ? 
With a feeling towards the poor dumb creatures, and an 
eye to their appearance and contentment, I have my reasons 
for giviug the latter mode of proceeding a preference. 
Although a fatting-coop is given up in our arrangements as 
a fatting-coop, yet some such a structure is indispensable in 
our arrangement, and serves admirably to confine those 
fowls intended for the table; they are taken from their 
roost in the evening, and placed here fasting until the 
following afternoon, when their dread sentence is carried 
into execution. It is otherwise very often tenanted by 
some enterprising hen, when she does, and we do not, want 
her to undertake the responsibilities attendant upon rearing 
a family; by thus placing her in durance, she forgets the 
affair in a few days, and altogether, so far as one’s feelings 
are concerned, she is in the meantime made comfortable, 
whatever her private reflections may he to the contrary, not¬ 
withstanding. 
23 inches square; height in front 1 foot; height behind lj foot; 
partition boards J of an inch thick; height of door Si inches, breadth 
inches.* 
No. 2 are laying and setting boxes—commend me to them ; 
we have used most contrivances in this way, but never found 
any to answer so completely as these, the hens take to them, 
and we require no better judgment than that. I believe 
they are a wrinkle for this article, and The Cottage Gar¬ 
dener to say, go forth ! An auger, a saw, a bill-hook, a 
clasp knife, a stout piece of leather for hinges, some iron 
tacks, a few poles two inches diameter, cut fresh from the 
water willow, some strips, and a few seasoned pieces of 
larch, or any other boards, are all the implements and 
material I made use of in their construction. Rive the 
willow rods into laths two-eighths-of-an-inch thick, wattle 
them on the frame as per drawing. "Why I give the pre¬ 
ference to these wattled boxes, in lieu of those formed of 
solid boards, is by reason of the constant circulation of air 
going on through the interstices. This has a great deal 
more to do with the health and comfort of the hens, and 
the prospective “ counting of the chickens before they are 
hatched,” than a great many people are aware of. In nine 
cases out of ten, sitting-boxes are too hot, close, and dry. 
Draw a comparison between them and the stolen, or, if you 
will, more natural nest in the open air—which of the two are 
notorious for producing a numerous and healthy offspring? 
The pheasantry or hen-house door, is an important | 
part of the structure. It should have an open trellis or | 
wire-work window formed in the face of it, with a shutter [ 
hinged on just below, to be turned up and secured by a j 
button in front of the opening at night, when cold winds or i 
frosty weather prevail; another opening to match should j 
be situated in the south or west wall, in order to ensure a | 
free circulation of air when the weather is warm. At the j 
bottom of the door is the fowls’ entrance, with a slide, to bo 
closed, if desirable, at night,' as a guard against foxes or I 
other vermin. No pheasantry or hen-house door should be 
without this very necessary appendage—its uses are legion. 
Most people understand what is meant by a crate ; some¬ 
thing of the sort will be found very convenient inverted in 
the hen-yard, to allow the young growing chicks to run 
under when they are fed, out of the way of the elder \ 
poultry, who, without there is a protection of this sort, are 1 
too apt to become monopolisers; besides, a frequency and I 
better description of food generally come to the share of the 
younger progeny, therefore a derice similar to this saves 
food, anxiety, time, and trouble. 
The area of our pheasantry measured 32 feet by 10, ; 
partitioned off longitudinally, and across; the front parallel 
was at its outermost flank and ends enclosed by an oak 
skeleton frame, and a four-inch skirting-board for a base, 
with wire-work attached, fashioned by a hexagonal or six- ; 
sided mesh two inches diameter, and a strong tar-cord 
netting, the same diameter in the mesh, strained over for a 
top. The pheasants are apt to injure themselves by flying 
[* This doorway is large enough for pheasants, but for Cochin-China 
fowls they should*be 1 foot high, and 9 inches wide.—E d. C. G.] 
