500 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



three feet and six inches wide extends east and west through the center 

 •f the building, with eight narrow pens on either side. A window hung 

 on hinges at the top is provided for each pen. Necessarily the windows 

 on the north side of the alley face the north. This is a very unfortunate 

 feature of the building for winter management. These northern windows 

 become coated with frost and even with a thick layer of ice which makes 

 the air of the whole house damp and chilly. Flight holes are also pro- 

 vided, protected by suitable swinging boards which can be opened and 

 closed at will. 



The internal arrangement of the pens is such as to allow a complete 

 view of the interior of each from the alleyway and farther for the 

 removal of the eggs without entering the pens. The nest boxes are 

 placed against the partition with holes cut into the alley through which 

 the eggs are removed. These nest boxes have a slooping cover upon 

 which rest the removable roosts. These roosts are made of two by fours, 

 rounded on top and held together by cross boards. Nothing in the pens 

 is fastened to the walls. Whenever it is desired to clean and disinfect 

 the house all of the fixtures may be removed to be cleaned and white- 

 washed outside of the building. The inside of the pens are thus left free 

 of obstructions and ready for thorough disinfection. 



The floor is concrete. Three inches of coarse gravel mixed with 

 cement, in the proportions of seven of the former to one of the latter, 

 were first laid down. The gravel and cement were mixed dry theu 

 moistened only, thoroughly mixed and very firmly packed in place. This 

 was the foundation for the floor. For the top dressing, the floor itself, 

 a mixture of two parts sharp sand and one of Portland cement, mixed to 

 a thin mortar was spread on evenly and the surface troweled smooth. 

 One barrel of Portland cement will lay seventy square feet of floor. 



Such a hen house while useful as quarters for a few individuals of a 

 large number of breeds, is not well adapted to the use of either the 

 general farmer of the poultryman. When, therefore, in the spring of 

 1895, by reason of changes in other buildings, it became possible to build 

 another, one was constructed having in view the wants of the practical 

 farmer. The entire house is forty-six feet long by nineteen and one-half 

 feet wide, inside measurements. It is divided by cross partitions into 

 four equal and similar pens, one of which may be described, since it 

 shows how cheaply and simply an efficient poultry house may be built. 

 The long slope of the roof is towards the north. The south side, instead 

 of being vertical, is thrown back twenty-five degrees in order that the 

 window may be approximately at right angles to the rays of the sun at 

 noon during the cold months of winter. 



The floor of the house is made of gravel mixed with enough fine earth 

 to pack solid. Such a floor is not only cheaper than cement or lumber, 

 but it is in many respects better. It is drier, furnishes dust baths for the 

 fowls and all things considered healthier. 



The frame work consists entirely of two by fours. On the north side 

 the height of the eaves is but four feet. The roof is flat, the pitch 

 not exceeding one quarter. Seven feet and eight inches above the floor 

 horizontal studding were put across from the top of the windows on the 

 south side to the rafters and the ceiling was nailed to these studding. 

 The greatest heighth of the room is therefore seven feet and eight inches 

 and from this runs down to three feet and one half on the north side. 

 Everything in the pen is removable. 



