VERMONT AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 43 



plate inside, and the front wall is 6 2-3 feet high. The roof is of 

 unequal span, the ridge being 4 feet in from the front wall. The 

 height of the ridge above the floor is 9 feet. The sills are 4x6 

 inches in size and rest on a rough stone wall laid on the surface 

 of the ground. A central sill gives support to the floor which at 

 times is quite heavily loaded with sand The floor timbers are 

 2x8 inches in size and are placed 2 feet apart. The floor is two 

 thicknesses of hemlock boards. All of the rest of the frame is 

 of 2x4 inch stuff. The building is boarded, papered and shingled, 

 on roof and walls. The rear wall and 4 feet of the lower part of 

 the rear roof, are ceiled on the inside of the studding and plates, 

 and packed, very hard, with dry sawdust. In order to make the 

 sawdust packing continuous between the wall and roof, the wall ceil- 

 ing is carried up to within 6 inches of the plate, then follows up in- 

 clining pieces of studding to the rafters. The short pieces of studding 

 are nailed to the studs and rafters. By this arrangement there are 

 no slack places around the plate to admit cold air. The end walls 

 are packed in the same way. The house is divided by close board 

 partitions into seven 20 foot sections; and one 10 foot section is re- 

 served at the lower end for a feed storage room. 



Each of the 20 foot sections has two 12 light, outside windows 

 screwed onto the front, and the space between the windows, which is 

 8 feet long, and 3 feet wide, down from the plate, is covered during 

 rough winter storms and cold nights, by a light frame, covered with 10 

 ounce duck, closely tacked on. This door, or curtain is hinged at the 

 top and swings in and up to the roof when open. 



A door 2 l / 2 feet wide is in the front of each section. The roost plat- 

 form is at the back side of each room and extends the whole 20 feet. 

 The platform is 3 feet 6 inches wide and is 3 feet above the floor. The 

 roosts are of 2x3 inch stuff placed on edge and are 10 inches above the 

 platform. The back one is 11 inches out from the wall and the space 

 between the two is 16 inches, leaving 15 inches between the front roost 

 and the duck curtain, which is sufficient to prevent the curtain being 

 soiled by the birds on the roost. The two curtains in front of the roost 

 are similar to the one in the front of the house. They are each 10 feet 

 long and 30 inches wide, hinged at the top and open out into the room 

 and fasten up when not in use. Great care was exercised in con- 

 structing the roosting closets, to have them as near air tight as possible, 

 excepting what may be admitted through the cloth curtain. 



Single pulleys are hung at the rafters, and with half inch rope fast- 

 ened to the lower edge of the curtain frames they are easily raised or 

 lowered and kept in place. At one end of the roosts, a space of 3 feet 

 is reserved for a cage for broody hens. This being behind the curtain, 

 the birds have the same night temperature when they are transferred 

 from the roosts to the cage. 



Six trap nests are placed at one end of each room, and four at the 

 other. They are put near the front so that the light may be good for 



