The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-11-23
FOE THE A r AND D N
Huuse Tor Forty Fowls,

FORsTHE FARM AND HOME.
A House Tor Forty Fowls.
A comfortable house may be built, say
twenty feet long and ten feet wide, and
eight feet front and five feet back,
boarded upright and battened, with a
shed roof, shingled, the flooring to be
made by filling it with mellow loan to
the top of the under-pinning; this we
consider better than a cement floor. This
building had batter be divided into two
compartments, with partition and door;
the south front should lave two windows
of six lights, eight by ten glass; the
east, one window. V%entilators should
be fixed at the highest point on each
end. The roost should not be ovcr two
feet high, and about eight inches above
a platform twenty inches wide; under
meath this platform the nest boxes can
be placed. A dust bin must also be
provided. And now you have a COM
Portable place for forty fowls, at a cost
of not over $25. Yards can be built on
the south side corresponding with the
width of the coops, and as long as room
can be spared to make them. Your
fowls must have access to a grass run
each day Gan hour or two toward evening
will answer), or else grass or weeds
must be cut and thrown to them in their
yards. Carbolic acid largely diluted
with water will drive away the lice in
your hen house; it may be applied with
a wisp, which we should consider pre-
ferable to a small pump. 1t would
hardly pay to heat the house in cold
weather; it would be better to make it
as warm rs possible by either ceiling it
or lining with tarred paper.
Moles vs.. Mice.
The question of moles eating vegeta-
bles, like the chess question, will not
down. The difficulty is that the true
mole, an animal that lives entirely on
insects and such small animals as it may
be able to overcome, is COMPOUNDED with
a species of mole-like mice, of which we
have number. The true mole is COM
p~aratively rare in the West, and does no
other injury than in disturbing plants
while burrowing for insects. The MOLE
ike mice seem to be insect as we'll as
vegetable feeders. A writer in the
american Garden, who seems to have
carefully investigated the habits of moles,
as many naturalists have before, says:
although moles do sometimes destroy
a few plants by uudermingling their
roots, it is more than probable that they
are blessings in disguise; that moles do
not eat plants, but eat worms and grubs,
admits of no doubt, they being found
mostly in places where worms and grubs
are plentiful. We have frequently fol-
lowed the mole tracks under rows of
dead strawberry plants, and have in
variably found upon the roots the pecu-
liar evidences of the kna wing of grubs,
(no mole teeth about IT'D thus proving
that grubs had already been engaged in
their destructive work, and were only
arrested in their mischievous progress by
the timely arrival of the mole, who,
after having found his prey, would not
follow the same row any further, but
would make u short cut to the next row
wnere his keen scent indicated the
presence of another choice morsc,."
The proper way is to discrimina ate rs
between mice and moles. If you find
the marks of rodent teeth on vegetables
they will be those of mice, not moles.
The worst that can be said of moles is
that in their search for insects in lawns
they do sometimes render tho surface
nnsightly. But they destroy every living
insect or larva they meet.
Imperfect Action IN Horses.
One of the most important questions
to the horse breeder is a conformation
that shall best produce unity of muscu.ar
action and the power to endure ex-
haustive labor. In the draft horse the
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