392 



ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE 



Off. Doc. 



about "restoriug the waste places," and she cannot digest a sullicient 

 surplus for egg production until all sores are healed and she is again 

 comfortable. 



The guise of ventilation covers a multitude of sins. "1 like plenty 

 of ventilation," says the fellow who is too lazy and shiftless to bat- 

 ten the cracks in his horse stable. "1 don't want pampered stock. 

 I want mine to be hardy," says the alleged dairyman whose cow 

 stable is so open that the snow and frost are on the backs of his 

 cows in the morning; and then, rather than water them properly, 

 he turns them out in cold weather to go to the creek and drink ice 

 water, if indeed he takes the trouble to cut away the ice. This is 

 the man who thinks "any old thing is good enough for the hens." 

 He gets no eggs from Thanksgiving till Easter. Look at his hen- 

 house and you will see the reason. I need not describe this building. 

 You have all seen it. Ventilation? Bah! 



A hen is not an exacting tenant. She does not demand hardwood 

 floors, mahogany furniture nor Brussels carpets, but she must have 

 quarters free from draughts. She can endure some cold if her quar- 

 ters are dry, but she must not have cold draughts down her back. 

 The house need not be expensive, but it must be tight. For these 

 reasons we have built our last four houses on the plan here indi- 

 cated. One of these houses is passing through its third winter. We 

 have never lost a comb or wattle in it. Our next four houses (and 

 we are increasing capacity every year) are likely to be on the same 

 plan. These houses are all 12 feet wide and in length one is 36, an- 

 other 60, and two others each 120 feet long, all being divided into 

 compartments 12x12 feet, so the four houses give us a total of 28 

 pens each 12 feet square. » 



TTJZ 



Our sills are 8x0; all other framing^ stuff is 2x4 hemlock. The 

 rafters are three feet apart, so that every fourth pair are supported 

 by two upright pieces 6^ feet long. These help to make a stiflf, 

 strong roof, and to these our partition doors are hinged. The front 

 of each house, 5^ feet high, is covered with finished weatherboarding 

 and painted; so are the ends. The rear, 4^ feet high, likewise the 

 roof, is sheeted with hemlock boards, the smooth sidt' in. These are 

 covered with three-ply tarred paper of the best quality obtainable, 

 and immediately treated to a coat of tar. If this tarring is repeated 



