Fowls should always be kept in a _poultry-yard_, or enclosed place set apart for them, as, if allowed to be at liberty in gardens or pleasure-grounds, they do a great deal of mischief by half-burying themselves in newly-raked soil, to clean their feathers and get rid of vermin; and by scratching up seeds, and even the roots of plants, in their search after worms and insects. When circumstances allow, the poultry-yard should be at least half an acre in extent, as fowls are never well unless they are allowed abundance of room for exercise. The usual form for a poultry-yard is a parallelogram, of which the hen-houses form one end and a pond the other. The whole should be surrounded by a strong fence of paling, and there should be a large tree, or post with branches fixed in it, in the centre, with a heap of calcareous earth near it. The surface of the poultry-yard (fig. 14.) should be level; and about one half of it should be laid down with gravel, but the lower part, near the pond, should be grass, as, unless there is some kind of herbage, there will be neither insects nor snails, and poultry require some animal food to keep them in health. The tree in the centre should have its branches deprived of their smaller spray, so that they may afford good roosting-places for the pea fowl and guinea fowls, both of which prefer roosting in the open air. The upper part of the yard which is near the hen-house, and which is covered with gravel, ought to be thoroughly well drained, so as to be as dry as possible; and the drains ought to be so contrived as to carry off all the water used in washing the hen-house, without suffering it to approach the pond. Where aquatic fowls are kept, it is, indeed, a good plan for the other fowls to have drinking-troughs near the hen-house, which should be filled with pure water every day, and frequently and carefully cleaned out. [Illustration: Fig. 14. _Poultry-yard._ _a_, Feeding-house, fitted up with boilers for cooking the food, from which pipes extend on each side for heating the laying and roosting-places. _b_, Sitting-place for turkeys. _c_, Roosting-place for turkeys. _d_, Sitting-place for hens. _e_, Roosting-place for hens. _f_, Feeding-shed, laid with stone. _g_, Open shed, laid with sand. _h_, Open shed with roosts, for pea-fowls. _i_, Pheasantry, or place for choice land fowls. _k k_, Places for choice aquatic fowls. _l_ and _m_, Sleeping and laying places for ducks. _n_ and _o_, Sleeping and laying places for geese. A pigeon-house may be erected at the lower part of the yard beyond the pond, or one of the compartments marked _k_ may be fitted up for pigeons.]