92 POULTRY BREEDING 
posure would be one to the south or southeast. The 
house is 13’x30' in size with a 4’x5’ extension on the east 
end. This latter is used as an entry permitting the 
operators to pass in and out of the house at will without 
exposing the chicks to draughts. An alleyway extends 
entirely along the north side and the remainder of the 
floor space is divided into pens. These are 6’x11’ in size. 
An examination of the plans will show that the vital fea- 
ture of the building is the elevated chick floor, or rather 
depressed alleyway, the latter being 3144’ below the for- 
mer. This arrangement secures several advantages. It 
enables the attendant to care for the brooders withcut 
the constant stooping required where they are operated 
on the floor in the usual manner. It reduces the en- 
closed airspace fully one-third, affecting a corresponding 
saving of heat required to maintain a given temperature. 
The chicks are nearer the ceiling, the warmest part of 
the room, thus giving them the benefit of all available 
warmth. Repeated tests showed the difference in tem- 
perature at the chick-floor level and the bottom of the 
alleyway was 14° in favor of the chick-floor. It exposes 
the smallest possible wall-space to the weather, which is 
worth considering in wind-swept localities. The only 
disadvantage is in going into the chick-rooms, the low 
ceiling making it awkward, but the work was done with- 
out serious inconvenience. 
The alleyway was formed by digging a trench along 
the north side of the proposed site of the building. This 
trench was 4’ wide and 314’ deep. It was walled with 
stone which are plentiful where it was built. These 
were joined by a wall of the same height at the west end, 
the east end being reserved for the doorway. In build- 
ing the south wall of the alleyway provisions were made 
