All modern poultry men have what is known as a dropping board under the perches, so that the droppings will not fall in the scratching litter and soil this part of the scratching area. These dropping boards are usually placed about six inches under the perches, and extend as far forward as the perches do. This makes the job of cleaning the poultry house quite a simple operation. It is advisable to sprinkle some sand over the dropping boards to absorb the moisture and bad odor. We have to give the birds a comfortable, well secluded place to lay their eggs. This is sometimes done by placing the nests, or the part facing the front wall, covered over with a board, that can be raised by means of a hinge, when collecting the eggs. The hen can be made to enter the nest from the rear, and if conditions are so that the nest is darkened, then the hen will prefer this place to any other place in the house. Nests can also be placed along the front wall, underneath the windows, or on either side of the house. However, up to the present time, below the dropping boards seems to be the most popular place for the nests with most poultry men. Every poultry house should have a dust box. This is a box partially filled with dust or fine soil, and placed in the front part of the house, so that it will be in the sunlight. The birds appreciate such a device, and will use it generously, as this aids them in fighting off insects that prey upon them. Suitable containers for food and water should be provided, and kept clean. The drinking fountains are of various designs, and one can buy these very cheaply. They are usually jars or cans inverted, so that the water will come out in a small opening at the bottom, just large enough for the bird to stick its head in. The food containers, for the dry mash are generally of the hopper kind, having a box-like container with a trough at the bottom, so that the food falls down into the small trough by gravity as the birds consume it. Thus, in a good sized hopper, a week’s ration of mash can be put in the hopper without further attention. CHAPTER XII. LICE AND MITES While we have interior fixtures of the poultry house fresh in mind let us turn our attention briefly to the study of parasites that live on the hen, and that are detrimental to her progress. There are quite a few various insects that depend upon the hen for their existence, but for our purposes we can consider them in a general class of lice and mites, as the treatment for each class is practically the same.