No. 4.] POULTRY HOUSING. 403 



condition must have food enough to maintain themselves, and 

 enough more to convert into eggs. In the spring a hen may 

 produce eggs at the expense of her maintenance, but in fall 

 and early winter she will not, as a rule. 



The principle which the possil)ility of good results in cold 

 houses and the successes and difficulties with hens in warm 

 houses combine to estal)lish is this : given hens in laying- 

 condition, and abundance of proper food, egg production 

 depends on uniformity of conditions more than on high 

 temperature. 



Such uniformity of conditions is more easily secured in a 

 house that is not much different in temjierature from the out- 

 side air than in one that is kept nuich warmer than the outer 

 air in extreme cold weather. In the open house the vari- 

 ations of temperature are less than in the house that is ke})t 

 warm in coldest weather, unless the ventilation of the warm 

 house is looked after nuich more closely than is customary. 

 The open house does not need close attention. The fowls in 

 it are hardened, — accustomed to a lower range of tempera- 

 ture than those in warm houses. Because of this, and because, 

 breathing always pure air, their vitality and capacity to stand 

 changes in the weather are greater, they are less affected by 

 weather changes than fowls in closed houses. 



To their better circulation and greater vitality also I attrib- 

 ute greater perfection in bodily functions, as seen in the 

 greater fertility of the eggs from such fowls, and in the ap- 

 parent fact that they get more nutriment from the food they 

 eat. As I said a little while ago, I could never see that 

 the fowls in the cold houses took any more food than fowls 

 in warm houses. Since I began the experiments mentioned 

 in this article a great many have been making observations 

 along the same line, some inde})endently of and without 

 knowledge of what I was doing, and others because of the 

 interest discussion of my tests excited. The general verdict 

 of these is that no more food is consumed in the cold houses. 

 Some say the fowls in the cold houses seem to eat less ; a 

 few affirm that they do eat less. Such statements seem at 

 first thought improbable, yet they are not, on consideration, 

 wholly unreasonal)l('. 



