We mean are the first and chief stock

We mean are the first and chief stock

The hen-house - for hens (barn-door fowls, we mean) are the first and chief stock, of the kind, to be provided for, and with them most of the other varieties can be associated - should be located in a warm, sheltered, and sunny place, with abundant grounds about it, where they can graze - hens eat grass - and scratch, and enjoy themselves to their heart's content, in all seasons, when the ground is open and they can scratch into, or range over its surface. Some people - indeed, a good many people - picket in their gardens, to keep hens out; but we prefer an enclosure to keep the hens in, at all seasons when they are troublesome, which, after all, is only during short seasons of the year, when seeds are planted, or sown, and grain and vegetables are ripening. Otherwise, they may range at will, on the farm, doing good in their destruction of insects, and deriving much enjoyment to themselves; for hens, on the whole, are happy things.

Fonte: Rural Architecture. Farm Houses.