

128 BIGGI^E POUI.TRY BOOK. 



eight by thirt3--two feet, but may be made any length 



desired. The front is ten feet high and the rear six 



feet. The roof, rear and end wall should be wind and 



rain-proof, but it is well to ■t^r 



have a considerable portion J^jjj'^''''"™T 



of the front open, especially 



in summer. Netting with 



two-inch mesh will confine pigeons, but where the 



English sparrow aljounds one-inch mesh is preferable. 



The floor of the loft may well be of earth, but should 



be dry. 



The nest boxes in a loft should on no account be 

 made in rows on permanent shelves and of a uniform 

 appearance. Instead of regular rows of nests of one 

 pattern use large soap boxes, starch boxes, irregular 

 boxes, nail kegs or anything that will give indi- 

 viduality to the home of each pair. Do not nail these 

 ftist to the walls or beams, or set them on shelves in 

 regular order, but hang them on hooks or screw-eyes, 

 so they can be easil}^ taken down. 



Figure i illustrates how a soap box may be trans- 

 formed into a first-class home for a pair of breeders. 

 A division board is placed in the mid- 



Ln' ^ ~lillii ^^^ ^^^^ alighting boards at either end. 



^ ; H I Fi&^^^'6 2 shows a smaller box coutain- 

 '^''~~^^^^^^^ ing but a single nest, so made that no 

 Fig. I. alighting board is needed and the roof 



sloped to prevent perching upon it. Two of 

 these will be needed for each pair and should 

 be placed adjacent. Nail kegs may be sus- 

 pended by wire to beams or rafters and have F^"^- 2. 

 the open end a little higher than the other, or a piece 



