THE AMERICAN POULTERER'S COMPANION. 



ment 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 when- 

 ever 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 afford- 

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

 southerly side, there is a large glazed window, 

 4 by 12 feet, and another on the southerly side 

 of the roof, of a corresponding size, designed to 

 admit light and heat of the sun in cold weath- 

 er, to stimulate the laying hens. In the south- 

 erly side there are also two small apertures three 

 feet above the ground or floor, for the ingress 

 and egress of the fowls. These openings may 

 be provided with sliding shutters, as well as 

 with ' lighting boards,' inside and out, and may 

 be guarded by sheets of tin, nailed on below 

 them, to prevent the intrusion of rats, weasels, 

 or skunks. 



" The building may be constructed of wood 

 or other materials, and in such style or order of 

 architecture as may suit one's taste, only pre- 

 serving the internal arrangements and propor- 

 tions in reference to breadth and height. As a 

 general rule, as regards the length of a building, 

 each hen, irrespective of the cocks, may be al- 

 lowed a foot. 



"In the ground plan, L denotes the laying 

 apartment ; H the hatching-room, 6 by 20 feet ; 

 n, n, etc., nest-boxes for laying, 14 by 14 inches, 



and ten inches deep ; o, o, etc., nest-boxes for 

 sitting hens of the same size ; /, a ladder or steps 

 leading into the loft ; and S, a stove for warm- 

 ing the apartment, if desirable, when the weath- 

 er is cold. 



"The transverse or cross section shows the 

 building from the bottom to the top, with the 



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inn 



DD 



GEOtTND PLAN. 



' : 



internal arrangements: L denotes the laying 

 apartment, arid H the hatching-room, divided 

 in the middle by a partition ; n, the nest-boxes 

 resting on tables, three or four feet above the 

 floor or ground ; b, b, boxes or troughs contain- 

 ing water, grain, brick-dust, sand, ground oyster- 

 shells, or the materials for the convenience of 

 the fowls ; d, an aperture or door 

 three feet above the ground or 

 floor, for the ingress and egress 

 of the fowls ; a, a lattice window, 

 three feet above the floor or 

 ground, for the admission of 

 fresh air to the sitting hens ; R, 

 the roosting-place, or loft, shut 

 off from the laying and sitting 

 apartments by the ceilings, c, c ; 

 A, a hole or opening in the ceil- 

 ing for the escape of the air be- 

 low into the loft ; v, the ventila- 

 tor at the peak of the roof; p, 

 the roosting-pole, or perch ; t, a 

 trough, or bed, for retaining the 

 droppings or 'dung." 











In In 



