A GUIDE FOR KEEPERS OF POULTRY 257 
In a house built after the West Virginia plan the care- 
taker is going back and forth among the fowls at every 
feeding time, and they soon become so familiar with 
him that they will cluster around him and allow them- 
selves to be picked up and examined without fear, while 
hens kept in houses so arranged that they are fed from 
outside their quarters are more or less timid. 
Although a detailed estimate is given to show how 
much material is required for one or two of the houses it 
is not thought necessary to do this in the case of all of 
them, as any competent carpenter can make an estimate 
in a short time. Nothing has been said about the cost 
of the houses because the price of lumber varies widely 
in different sections of the country and prices that would 
obtain in one place might not be applicable to another. 
The West Virginia house, plans for which appear on 
pages 258-261, is 180’ long and 16’ wide, divided into 
9 compartments, each 20'x16’, the middle one being used 
as a feed-room. Each compartment is used to house 75 
hens the size of Leghorns. The foundation is of con- 
crete and the floor of cement. The floor was made by 
filling in and tamping down clay and spreading over 
this 1” of cement mortar made by using 1 part of Port- 
land cement to 3 parts sand, spread directly on the dirt 
and leveled by using a straight-edged board. This makes 
a cheap floor, keeps out rats and dampness and is easily 
cleaned. The house was constructed of cheap oak boards 
and the roof is of three-ply roofing. In each room in 
front are a door and two windows and an opening cov- 
ered with wire netting, which can be closed when neces- 
sary by a cloth curtain. The perches consist of 2”x4" 
scantling 20’ long extending parallel with the north wall, 
which is double-boarded and the space between the studs 
