The greater the slope of the ground the smaller may be the troughs, but on ground where the slopes are great, more expense will be necessary in stilting the flumes to maintain the level, and the harder it will be to find a large section that can be brought under the ditch.

Fluming water for poultry is, like irrigation, a community project.  The greatest dominating people of history have their origin in arid countries.  It was co-operate or starve, and they learned co-operation and conquered the earth.  If a man interferes with the flume, or takes more than his share of the water, put him out.  We are in the hen, not the hog business.

Community water systems, where water must be pumped and piped in iron pipe, is of course a more expensive undertaking.  It will only pay where water is too deep for individuals to drive sand points on their own property.  There is certainly little reason to consider an expensive method when there are abundant localities where simple plans may be used.

On sand lands, with water near the surface, each farmer may drive sand points and pump his water by hand.  In this case running water is not possible, but the pipes or flumes may be arranged so that fresh pumping flushes all the drinking places and also leaves them full of standing water.  The simplest way to arrange this will be by wooden surface troughs as used in the fluming scheme.  The only difference is that an occasional section is made deeper so that it will retain water.

A more permanent arrangement may be made by using a line of three-fourths inch pipe.  At each watering place the pipe is brought to the surface so that the water flows into a galvanized pan with sloping sides.  This pan has an overflow through a short section of smaller tubing soldered to the side of the pan.  The pipe line is parallel with the fence line, the pans supply both fields.  By this arrangement the entire plant may be watered in a few minutes.  The overflow tubes are on one side.  Using these tubes as a pivot the pans may be swung out from under the fence with the foot and cleaned with an old broom.  Where the ground water is deep a wind mill and storage tank would be desirable.

Outdoor Accommodations.

The hen house is a place for roosting, laying and a protection for the feed.  The hen is to live out doors.

On the most successful New England poultry farms, warm houses for hens have been given up.  Hens fare better out of doors in Virginia than they do in New England, but make more profit out of doors anywhere than they will shut up in houses.  If your climate will not permit your hen to live out doors get out of the climate or get out of the hen business.

There is, however, a vast difference in the kind of out-of-doors.  The running stream with its fringe of trees, brush and rank growing grass, forms daylight quarters for the hen par excellence.  Rank growing crops, fodder piled against the fences, a board fence on the north side of the lot, or little sheds made by propping a platform against a stake, will all help.  A place out of the wind for the hens to dust and sun and be sociable is what is wanted, and what must be provided, preferably by Nature, if not by Nature then by the poultryman.