94 METHODS OF POULTRY MANAGEMENT. 



are collected they should be treated. It may be best to weigh 

 the ingredients a few times, after which it will be possible to 

 make sufficiently close estimates by measure. 



The treated droppings should be well sheltered until time to 

 apply them to the land, i. e., shortly before plowing. Any form 

 of shelter may be used. For a temporary plant, or for a small 

 farm, a small wooden building or a bin in a larger building will 

 probably be the best place practicable ; but for a large, perma- 

 nent poultry plant a cement manure shed or tank is advisable. 

 A general farmer also will find such an equipment for the 

 storage of all farm manure a paying investment. A portion of 

 this shed can be partitioned off for hen manure. 



A properly constructed cement building will not have to be 

 constantly repaired and frequently replaced like a wooden 

 structure, which rots out quickly when used for the storage of 

 manure. The cement building is water tight, preventing the 

 entrance of water from without and the escape of any unab- 

 sorbed liquid manure. It is, in fact, a perfect permanent shel- 

 ter. 



THE MAINE STATION MANURE SHED. 



In 1912 this Station built at its poultry plant a manure shed 

 large enough to accommodate the droppings from one thousand 

 adult birds, over a period of a year, and the droppings collected 

 from the range where about three thousand chicks are annually 

 reared. 



The inside measurements of this shed are 12-7 feet. It is 

 5 feet high at the eaves and 8 feet 2 inches to the peak of the 

 roof. It is illustrated in figures 58 and 59. 



The droppings are thrown into the shed through trap doors 

 in the roof, and taken out from one end, which is of removable 

 plank. The other three walls, and enough of this end wall to 

 form the grooves which hold the ends of the planks ; the floor ; 

 and the foundation are formed of one continuous cement mass 

 (monolithic construction). The gables are board. The gable 

 at the open (plank) end of the shed is removable to give more 

 head room, when shoveling the manure into carts. It is held 

 in place by hooks. 



It was necessary to place this building on a very heavy clay 

 soil which heaves badly with frost. For this reason it was 



