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THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 83 



for heating, warmth being very conducive to health 

 and laying, though extreme heat has the contrary effect. 

 The dormitory, or roost, should be well ventilated by 

 means of two lattice windows, at opposite ends of the 

 building; and it would be desirable to have one or 

 more apertures through the roof for the escape of foul 

 air. The sitting apartment, also, should be well ven- 

 tilated by means of a large lattice window, in the side 

 of the house, and holes through the ceiling or roof If 

 kept moderately dark, it will contribute to the quietude 

 of the hens, and thus favor the process of incubation. 

 The silting room should be provided with boxes or 

 troughs, well supplied with fresh water and proper food 

 for the hens, during the hatching period, from which 

 they can partake at all times, at will. The laying 

 room, in winter, should have similar boxes or troughs, 

 containing old mortar, broken oyster shells, soot, brick 

 dust, gravel, and ashes, as well as a liberal supply of 

 proper drink and food. The perches, or roosting poles, 

 should be so arranged that one row of fowls should not 

 rest directly above another. They should be so con- 

 structed as to enable the fowls to ascend and descend 

 by means of ladders, or steps, without making much 

 use of their wings ; for, heavy fowls fly up to their 

 roosts with difficulty, and often injure themselves by 

 descending, as they alight heavily upon the ground. 



The following cut represents a hen house, in per- 

 spective, 20 feet long, 12 feet wide, 7 feet high to the 

 eaves, with a roof having a 7-foot pitch, a chimney 

 top, a ventilator on the peak, twelve feet in length and 

 one foot or more in height, and openings in the gable 

 ends for the admission of fresh air. In the easterly 

 end, there are two doors, one leading into the laying 

 apartment and loft, and the other into the hatching 

 room. In the same end there is also a wooden shutter, 

 or blind, which may be opened, whenever necessary, to 

 let air or light into the roost. In the back, or northerly 

 side, there is a large lattice window, three feet above 

 the floor or ground, 4 by 12 feet, for the purpose of 

 affording fresh air to the sitting hens. In the front, or 



