l62 MAINE) AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. I907. 



house, except that the front wall is made a little higher. Three 

 sills which are 6 inches square run lengthwise of the house, the 

 central one supporting the floor timbers in the middle. They 

 rest on a rough stone wall, high enough from the ground so 

 that dogs can go under the building to look after rats and skunks 

 that might incline to make their homes there. The stone wall 

 rests on the surface of the ground. The floor timbers are 2 by 

 8 inches in size and rest wholly on top of the sills. All wall 

 studs rest on the sills ; the front ones are 8 feet long and the 

 back ones 6 feet 6 inches long. The roof is unequal in width, 

 the ridge being in 8 feet from the front wall. The height of 

 the ridge from the sill to the extreme top is 12 feet 6 inches. 

 All studding is 2 by 4 in size and the rafters are 2 by 5. The 

 building is boarded with inch boards and papered and shingled 

 with good cedar shingles on walls and roof. The floor is o£ 2 

 thicknesses of hemlock boards, which break joints well in the 

 laying. 



The building is divided by tight board partitions into 20 sec- 

 tions, each section being 20 feet long. All of the sections are 

 alike in construction and arrangement. The front side of eacn 

 section has two windows of 12 lights of 10 by 12 glass, screwed 

 on, upright, 2 feet 8 inches from each end of the room. They 

 are 3 feet above the floor. The space between the windows is 

 8 feet 10 inches long, and the top part of it down from the plate, 

 3^2 feet, is not boarded, but left open to be covered by the cloth 

 curtain when necessary. This leaves a tight wall, 3 feet 10 

 inches high, extending from the bottom of the opening down to 

 the floor, which prevents the wind from blowing directly on to 

 the birds when they are on the floor. A door is made in this 

 part of the front wall for the attendant to pass through when 

 the curtain is open. A door 16 inches high and 18 inches wide 

 is arranged under one of the windows for the birds to pass 

 through to the yards in front. It is placed close down to the 

 floor. A similar door is in the center of the back wall to admit 

 them to the rear yard when that is used. 



A light frame, made of 1 by 3 inch pine strips and 1 by 6 

 inch cross ties, is covered with 10 ounce white duck, and hinged 

 at the top of the front opening, which it covers when closed 

 down. This curtain is easily turned up into the room where it 

 is caught and held by swinging hooks until it is released. 



