POULTRY ON THE GENERAL FARM 
This may be attained in several ways. Upright boards with 
cracks battened is the cheapest method. Various kinds of 
lap-siding give similar results. The single-board wall may be 
greatly improved by lining with building-paper. This should 
be put on between the studding and siding. Lath should also 
be used to prevent the paper bagging out from the wall. The 
double-board wall is the best where a warm house is desired. 
It should be made by siding up outside the studding with 
cheap lumber. On this is placed a layer of roofing paper and 
over it the ordinary siding. The windows of a chicken-house 
should furnish sufficient light that the hens may find grain 
in the litter on cloudy days. Too much glass in a poultry 
house makes the house cold at night, and it is a needless 
expenditure. 
The subject of roofing farm buildings may be summarized 
in this advice: Use patent roofing if you know of a variety 
that will last; if not, use shingles. Shingle roofs require a 
steeper pitch than do roofs of prepared roofing. A shingle 
roof can be made much warmer by using tightly laid sheath- 
ing covered with building-paper. Especial care should be 
taken that the joints at the eaves of the house are tightly 
fitted. 
The object of ventilating a chicken-house is to supply a rea- 
sonable amount of fresh air, and, equally important, to keep 
the house dry. Ventilation should not be by cracks or open 
cupolas. Direct drafts of air are injurious, and ventilation by 
such means is always the greatest when the least needed. 
Schemes of ventilation by a system of pipes are expensive 
and unnecessary. The latest, best and cheapest plan for pro- 
viding ventilation is the curtain front house for the north, 
and the open front house for the more southerly sections. 
The curtain front house is giving way to the open front with 
a somewhat smaller opening in sections, as far north as Con- 
necticut. 
Make all roosts on the same level. The ladder arrange- 
ment is a nuisance and offers no advantage. Arrange the 
roosts so that they may be readily removed for cleaning. Do 
not fill the chicken-house full of roosts. Put in only enough 
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