428 



AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING 



6. Small houses may be covered with prepared roofing 

 laid over plain or matched lumber. Such construction is 

 warm and air-tight. 



Floors. The cheapest floor for the poultry house is the 

 earth floor, but it is likely to give trouble from dampness, 

 and is dusty and difficult to keep clean. Clay should be used 

 for the floor in preference to a loam soil. The earth surface 

 may be removed occasionally, or the entire floor may be 



PERSPECTIVE 

 ' NESTS 



Fig. 273. Detail of nests for house shown in Fig 270. 



replaced with new earth. Another objection to the earth 

 floor is that it is not vermin-proof. 



Board floors are quite expensive, not very desirable, and, 

 to be warm, should be made double, with a layer of tar paper 

 between the two layers of boards. Board floors are likely 

 to form a harbor for rats. 



Cement floors are the most durable, the easiest to clean 

 and disinfect, and are quite reasonable in cost. The objec- 



