60 HEN-HOUSE. 



twelve inches apart. There is a prevalent 

 idea that these perches should be of sassa- 

 fras wood, but I should much rather trust to 

 whitewashing the perches and the whole 

 interior two or three times a year. I had 

 originally constructed the roosting-perches 

 on a row of strips of plank descending from 

 one side of the building to the other, after a 

 plan described in the books ; but I found 

 them so inconvenient that I at length adopt- 

 ed the above, and am well satisfied with the 

 alteration. It would be a great improve- 

 ment to arrange the perches or roosting- 

 poles in such a way that they may be with- 

 drawn, and others substituted, when they 

 can be purified by submersion in water for 

 some days. The best mode of doing this 

 will, of course, suggest itself to the intelli- 

 gent farmer. It may be effected by a dove- 

 tail into the plank strips, or by iron pins or 

 screws, or slight wire hooks. 



When a house is built in .the ordinary 

 way, that is to say, a mere shell of boards, 

 it may be rendered more comfortable in 

 winter by stuffing straw behind battens, 



