be absolutely tight at the bottom, as a very small opening will
allow them to get through. Avoid all corners or places where they can
be caught fast. The mesh of a wire fence must be fine. Ordinary
chicken wire will not do.

[Illustration: A home-made chicken coop built on the "scratching-shed"
plan]

A brooder that will accommodate fifty chicks comfortably for eight
weeks will be entirely too small even for half that number after they
begin to grow. As soon as they can get along without artificial heat,
the chickens should be moved to a colony house and given free range.
They will soon learn to roost and to find their way in and out of
their new home, especially if we move away the old one where they
cannot find it.

A chicken coop for grown fowls can be of almost any shape, size, or
material, providing that we do not crowd it to more than its proper
capacity. The important thing is to have a coop that is dry, easily
cleaned and with good ventilation, but without cracks to admit
draughts. A roost made of two by four timbers set on edge with the
sharp corners rounded off is better than a round perch. No matter how
many roosts we provide, our chickens will always fight and quarrel to
occupy the top one. Under the roost build a movable board or shelf
which may easily be taken out and cleaned. Place the nest boxes under
this board, close to the ground. One nest for four hens is a fair
allowance. Hens prefer to nest in a dark place if possible. A modern,
up-to-date coop should have a warm, windproof sleeping room and an
outside scratching shed. A sleeping room should be provided with a
window on the south side and reaching nearly to the floor. A hotbed
sash is excellent for this purpose. The runway or yard should be as
large as our purse will permit. In this yard plant a plum tree for
shade. The chickens will keep the plum trees free from the "curculio,"
a small beetle which is the principal insect pest of this fruit. This
beetle is sometimes called "the little Turk" because he makes a mark
on a plum that resembles the "star and crescent" of the Turkish flag.

Whether we can make our poultry pay for the trouble and expense of
keeping them will depend on the question of winter eggs. It is
contrary to the natural habits of chickens to lay in winter, and if
left to themselves they will practically stop laying when they begin
to moult or shed their feathers in the fall, and will not begin again
until the warm days of spri