^6 Maine: agricuIvTurai. e:xpi:rime:nt station. 1910. 



There is in connection with the Station poultry plant a hot 

 water heating system which has a 3-inch out-go pipe. This 

 out-go pipe as it leaves the heater passes along the rear wall of 

 a small room which was formerly used as a grain storage room. 

 To provide a place in which to sprout oats the back part of this 

 room was partitioned off as a closet inclosing the 3-inch hot 

 water pipe. The partition wall which forms the front of this 

 closet consists of glass doors, made from regular storm window 

 sash, hinged so as to swing open as an ordinary door does. 

 These glass doors face towards the south side of the building 

 which has a window directly in front of the doors. Through- 

 out the day the closet gets plenty of light. The dimensions of 

 this sprouting closet are as follows : — 



Length 9 ft. 3 inches 



Depth 2 ft. 6 inches 



Height 6 ft. 



The place of shelves in this closet is taken by large, square 

 green-house flats made of %-incli stuff. These flats have the 

 following dimensions : — 



Length 2 ft. 5 inches (inside) 



Breadth 2 ft. 5 inches (inside) 



Depth 2 inches (inside) 



The length of the closet is such as just to accommodate three 

 tiers of these flats, which slide on supports so that they can be 

 moved in or out or turned around to suit the convenience of the 

 operator, and the needs of the sprouting grain. These flats set 

 15 inches apart (i. e., vertically). There can be accommodated 

 four rows of flats, three in a row, in the closet at one time. 

 A number of holes are bored in the bottom of each one of the 

 flats in order to drain off the surface moisture which comes with 

 the wetting of the oats. 



The arrangement of the sprouting closet and the flats is shown 

 in Figs. 73 and 74. 



The advantage of the closet arrangement described is that it 

 enables one to control the three necessary factors of heat, mois- 

 ture and light, quite completely. In this closet it is easily pos- 

 sible to maintain a temperature which does not run at any time 

 below 70 degrees. The closet being perfectly tight it is possible 



