iddling one half an
hour, and a small one, or a chicken, twenty minutes. The fire must be
very quick and clear, before any fowls are put down. A capon will take
from half an hour to thirty-five minutes, a goose an hour, wild ducks a
quarter of an hour, pheasants twenty minutes, a small stuffed turkey an
hour and a quarter, turkey poults twenty minutes, grouse a quarter of an
hour, quails ten minutes, and partridges about twenty-five minutes. A
hare will take nearly an hour, and the hind part requires most heat.
Pigs and geese require a brisk fire, and quick turning. Hares and
rabbits must be well attended to, and the extremities brought to the
quick part of the fire, to be done equally with the backs.

POULTRY YARD. In the rearing of poultry, care should be taken to choose
a fine large breed, or the ends of good management may be defeated. The
Dartford sort is generally approved, but it is difficult to say which is
to be preferred, if they be but healthy and vigorous. The black sort are
very juicy, but as their legs are so much discoloured, they are not well
adapted for boiling. Those hens are usually preferred for setting, which
have tufts of feathers on their head; those that crow are not considered
so profitable. Some fine young fowls should be reared every year, to
keep up a stock of good breeders, and bad layers and careless nurses
should be excluded. The best age for a setting hen is from two to five
years, and it is necessary to remark which among them are the best
breeders. Hens set twenty days, and convenient places should be provided
for their laying, which will also serve for setting and hatching. A hen
house should be large and high, should be frequently cleaned out, and
well secured from the approach of vermin, or the eggs will be sucked,
and the fowls destroyed. Hens must not be disturbed while sitting, for
if frightened, they are apt to forsake their nests. Wormwood and rue
should be planted about their houses; some of the former should
occasionally be boiled, and sprinkled about the floor, which should not
be paved, but formed of smooth earth. The windows of the house should be
open to the rising sun, and a hole left at the door to let in the
smaller fowls; the larger may be let in and out by opening the door.
There should be a small sliding board to shut down when the fowls are
gone to roost, to prevent the ravages of vermin, and a strong door and
lock should be added, to secure the poultry from thieve