POULTRY EXPERIMENTS. 153 



again at 10 o'clock. They were constantly supplied with the 

 dry mash, bone, shell, grit and charcoal with limited quantities 

 of mangolds. The bedding kept dry and the birds were in good 

 health and vigor. Eleven of the 272 birds thus housed died 

 during the winter. The pens were very small and the popula- 

 tion dense — 4^4 feet of floor surface to each bird. They did not 

 lay as well as their sisters in any of the pens in the large house 

 and there was some egg eating, which reduced their record 

 yields. 



The houses had to be available for brooder chicks early in 

 April, so the hens were dressed and marketed the first of that 

 month and the houses were thoroughly cleaned and painted 

 inside, with kerosene and carbolic acid, to destroy any lice that 

 the hens might have left. 



During the 5 months — 'November 1 to March 31 — the birds 

 yielded 1057 dozen eggs, which, had we no other market for 

 them, would have sold in the open Boston market at 33 cents 

 per dozen net easily, yielding $348. The food eaten by these 

 birds during the period cost $175 which leaves a balance of $173 

 to pay for their care. While $173 is not a great amount of 

 money, it paid well for the labor required in caring for the birds, 

 which was done in connection with other work. The houses 

 were not noticeably injured by their winter's use. The birds 

 when dressed and sold brought as much money as they would 

 have done in the previous October, including those that were 

 lost. 



The reasons for this test were to learn if these small houses, 

 which are used only in summer as homes for growing chickens, 

 could be utilized during winter with some profit. 



HOUSES FOR THE EAYING AND BREEDING HENS. 



Two styles of houses are in use at the Station. One is a 

 thoroughly made double walled building, 16 by 150 feet in size. 

 It is always kept above freezing by a water heater and a flow 

 and return, two-inch pipe, running the length of the building. 

 This building was constructed with special reference to comfort, 

 health and productiveness. Small, well made houses with single 

 walls had formerly been in use, but they would get white with 

 frost in cold weather, if shut up close enough so the birds did 

 not suffer from cold during winter nights. When the weather 



