PLYMOUTH ROCK STANDARD AND BREED BOOK 401 



The house must be constructed in such a way that the 

 cold can not penetrate it readily, yet the sun can dry it and 

 warm the walls during the bright days, as the sun is the cheap- 

 est heating and drying agent that we have. 



Houses for Warm Climates. In parts of the country where 

 extremely cold weather is unknown and in parts even farther 

 south where only moderately cold weather is experienced, 

 buildings which are very simply and thinly built, open on one 

 side and with conveniences for letting in air through one or 

 more of the other three sides, may be constructed. 



Simple Construction Best. The poultry keeper who has 

 at his disposal the rear of a small city lot, or the village poul- 

 tryman who has a little larger space, will find the simplest 

 house the best in most cases, and also the least expensive to 

 construct. Of all buildings, the shed roof style, with the 

 front about seven or eight feet high and the back about five 

 to six feet high, is the cheapest to build and the one most 

 commonly used. It can be built any width up to sixteen feet 

 and any length desired. It should face south and have one 

 full size upper and lower sash window, hung preferably on 

 weights and pulleys, like the windows in a dwelling, for every 

 eight feet in length, if it is more than ten feet wide, or one 

 window for each twelve feet in length, if it is less than ten 

 feet wide. A house less than twelve feet wide is more expen- 

 sive to build, in proportion to its capacity, and is not advised 

 except in cases where a narrower house must be used for some 

 reason. 



Walls and Roofs. In the cold parts of the country, the 

 walls and roof of such a building may be built of tongued and 

 grooved boards nailed to a frame work of two-by-fours, and 

 covered with two or three thicknesses of tar paper, then one 

 thickness of any good brand of prepared roofing. This con- 

 struction, though simple and cheap, makes a wall that is rea- 

 sonably warm, because it keeps out the cold and is warmed 

 up and dried out quickly when the sun shines on it. Shin- 

 gles, clapboards, or any kind of siding on the outside makes 

 a better appearing structure and a warm one, but more ex- 

 pensive. In warmer territories, only a single thickness of 

 boards for the walls, with the same and tarred paper or 

 prepared roofing on the roof to make it water-tight, is re- 

 quired. A handsomer finish can also be applied to the same 

 construction. 



