1 Dec., 1897.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 443 
Water Trough for Fowls. 
THE importance of clean, cool water for fowls, especially during the hot 
season, is of the greatest importance, and yet 1tis a matter greatly overlooked 
by owners of poultry. The usual water vessel is a tin dish placed on the 
ground, where it is liable to be upset when the birds step on to the edge, or 
else, worse still, it is sunk in the ground and so becomes a sink for 
dirt and rubbish as well as a danger to young chickens which cannot get out 
should they slip in whilst drinking. At the Penal Establishment at St. 
Helena, a very simple and ingenious contrivance obviates all difficulty, and the 
poultry have a constant supply of clean, cool water. The apparatus consists of 
a round zinc trough about 2 inches deep. In this stands a zinc dome having 
only one small aperture near the bottom, about 13 inches square. The dome is 
laid on its side and filled with water through the hole. It is then lifted by the 
handle at the top and placed in the trough. The water will run from the 
dome in just sufficient quantity to nearly fill the trough. Thus a constant 
supply is kept up, so long as there are 4 inches of water in the dome. The | 
latter can, of course, be made to hold 1, 2, or 10 gallons, if required. With 
this simple apparatus, forgetting to give the bird water, as is often the case in 
a dry yard, is not productive of serious consequences, as the supply will last 
for a long time, whilst a capsize is rendered impossible, and the smallest chicken 
cannot by any possibility get drowned. 
The dimensions of the apparatus are— 
Dome or cylinder, 12 in. x 12 in. 
Trough, 16 in. in diameter, 2 in. in depth. 
Capacity, about 5 gallons. 
The aperture must be less in height than the dimensions offthe tray. The 
tray or trough must of course be water-tight, but need {not fnecessarily be © 
cylindrical in shape. 
An oil-drum will make a capital cylinder. 
