134 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 



[If the front of a coop is, as usual, made of two 

 wide planks, it will soon split and warp, but if made 

 as here recommended it will last as long as the 

 coop.] 



Should you require twenty coops, or fifty, or a 

 hundred, all you have to do is to order from the 

 timber merchant twenty, fifty, or a hundred of each 

 of the pieces given in this list ; they will be supplied 

 to you all ready cut into lengths, and there will then 

 be no waste of material, as there would be if you 

 purchased the timber in planks. 



The ventilation of the coop (a very important 

 matter). Holes bored in the front of a coop only 

 weaken the wood, and do not ventilate properly, i.e. 

 carry away the warm tainted air that rises to the top 

 of the coop inside from the hen and chicks. A perfect 

 method of ventilation is shown in fig. 25. The 

 draught sweeps in under the centre roofing board at 

 D (fig. 23), and out over the top of the front, through 

 the open space of l^in. left on purpose. (Fig. 25.) 



The front of this coop can be instantly put in its 

 place to close it up (a convenience all keepers know 

 the great value of).* The lower edge of the front drops 



* The front of a pheasant coop, as it is being attached to shut up 

 the young birds, should always allow you to first close it near the 



