18 



In House No. 2, it will be seen that an alleyway is built 

 in the house back of the lofts. The partition between this 

 alleyway and the lofts is made of two-inch poultry netting, 

 but the partitions between the rooms are solid and as air- 

 tight as the outside w^alls. 



A good many breeders are now using stout muslin in- 

 stead of glass in the windows, as this gives light, lets the 

 warmth of the sun enter the rooms and provides a good 

 system of ventilation. Houses in which cloth windows are 

 used are found to be fully as warm as those having glass 

 windows. 



On the side of the house next the fly, a series of openings' 

 is made near the roof, but low enough to open under the top 

 of the fly. These openings may be about eight inches square 

 with a six-inch wide shelf even with the bottom inside and 

 outside. These are the doors through which the pigeons 

 go back and forth to and from the fly, and the shelves be- 

 neath them are the lighting boards. These openings should 

 be provided with a sliding door so that they can be closed 

 when it is desirable to shut out the cold or to confine the 

 birds for any reason. 



NESTS. 



In providing nests for a loft, at least two nests for each 

 pair of birds should be provided. This gives the birds a 

 chance to find a nest to use while the squabs are maturing;; 

 in another, as after the birds begin to breed they will have 

 eggs in one nest while they have a pair of squabs to feed 

 in another. Some breeders provide 120 nests for fifty pairs 

 of birds, but this is rather more than is absolutely necessary? 



The nest boxes' are easily made. The illustration on 

 page 28 shows very clearly the m.anner of constructing 



