JANUARY 1, 1914 



25 



put in. Two years ago I gave my daughter, 

 living on the lot next to me, a dozen hens 

 from my pens, and in about a year the mites 

 and lice came near finishing them — no ashes 

 used. Since then ashes have been used 

 according to my directions, and now chick- 

 ens are clean. 



To conclude, thoroughness is necessary in 

 every tiling to be successful. If my method 

 is followed, and fine coal or wood ashes 

 used, it will positively rid and keep clean 

 any chicken-house, at least in this locality. 



East Barnaby, B. C. 



THE BEST POULTRY- HOUSE FOR SUMMER 

 AND WINTER 



A Home-made Poultry-house for a City Lot 



BY E. H. UPSON 



After more than forty years of experi- 

 menting with dit^^erent styles of houses I 

 have, by close observation, come to the con- 

 clusion that a cheap well-ventilated dry 

 liouse is more satisfactory than the more 

 elaborate affair. Having retired from the 

 farm 1 am now located in the suburbs of a 

 city of 13,000, and last spring I built a 

 poultry-house which is so satisfactory that 

 I should like to describe it briefly for the 

 benefit of others of the Gleanings family 

 who, like myself, are small beekeepers and 

 poultry-raisers in a sort of play-and-profit 

 combination. 



The house is 12 x 20 ft., inside measure, 

 and 7 feet high at the eaves. It has a pitch 

 roof, and is set on a solid concrete wall. 

 In order to make it rat and mouse proof I 

 cemented the floor with a concrete of one 

 part Portland cement and six parts gravel 

 without sifting. 



For convenience in letting the fowls to 

 and from the yard I have an opening about 

 9 by 18 inches, fitted with a slide which I 

 carefully close at night, and feel sure that 

 nothing can molest the chickens, as all other 

 openings are carefully protected by galvan- 

 ized wire cloth. In one side, and near the 

 end, I have a door 2 ft. 8 inches by 6 ft. 6, 

 which, of course, I keep closed all the time 

 except when in actual use. The building is 

 enclosed with beaded drop siding, which 

 makes it sufficiently warm for ordinary pur- 

 poses. 



For ventilation I left two openings on 

 the south side, each 20 by 60 inches; one 

 opening on the north side, 20 by 60 inches, 

 and one in the east end 20 by 40 inches; 

 also an opening in the door 20 x 20 inches. 

 AH these opening-s are closed with heavy 

 galvanized cloth of mesh 5 to the inch. For 

 summer I open all these windows and leave 



them open ; but for winter I tack heavy 

 brown muslin over the openings except on 

 the south. I have two barn windows, and 

 on the east one window. This gives sufficient 

 light, and the muslin gives sufficient ven- 

 tilation and at the same time prevents the 

 winds from blowing into the building. I 

 have two rows of perches extending the 

 whole length of the building on the north 

 side. Two rows across the west end, and 

 two rows on the south run up nearly to the 

 door, which is located near the east end. 

 These perches will accommodate 150 ordi- 

 nary-sized chickens, and are high enough 

 to give jjlenty of room for nests underneath. 

 The perches are all placed above droppings- 

 boards; and for ease in cleaning, the drop- 

 pings-boards are all hinged on one side and 

 hooked up on the other, so that it is the 

 simplest matter in the world to clean the 

 boards. For convenience in handling the 

 fowls I placed the perches in rows around 

 tlie walls, and can reach any bird in the 

 house from the floor without disturbing any 

 of the others. 



Tlie material for this building cost about 

 $90 in our local market here. This includes 

 paint for two good coats. 



Inasmuch as I did all the work myself, 

 digging the trench, making the wall, doing 

 all the carpentering, painting, etc., I am 

 unable to state just what the entire cost 

 would be ; but the labor and painting would 

 probably be not far from $35 at present 

 prices for labor of this kind. Some readers 

 may wonder why I use a cement floor in- 

 stead of a board floor. I will tell you. I 

 consider a board floor the uwrst factor in 

 producing disease among fowls that I know 

 of. 



Ubee, Ind. 



A WOMAN'S EXPERIENCE WITH BEES AND 

 CHICKENS 



BY MRS. S. H. STOCKMAN 



I have been a beekeeper for forty vears, 

 and a poultry-raiser for more years than 

 that. As I said in the March 1st issue of 

 Gleanings, my husband and I were in part- 

 nership with the bees after the first few 

 months (not a silent partnership) until I 

 took sole charge of the 20 colonies left, 

 about 15 years ago, I think ; but the poultry 

 from the first has been my sole charge. 



My husband's mother started me in the 

 poultry line in 1870 — 43 years ago — with a 

 Brahma hen and her flock of crossbred 

 chickens. It was late fall, the chicks were 

 about half feathered, and I smile now when 

 I think what an unprepossessing lot thev 

 were ; for if there is a more ungainly thing 



