66 Profitable Poultry Keeping. 



house is of brick or stone, and only the height of the roof 

 there, the roof itself presents a large amount of space for 

 the north and east winds to play upon, so that unless it be 

 very substantial the house will be greatly chilled in conse- 

 quence. If the back wall is higher than the roof, then a 

 spout will be needed to carry off the rain ; and the joint 

 between the roof and wall will have to be very well made, or 

 the water, and snow especially, will find its way through, and 

 thus make the inside of the house damp. Another object in. 

 having the house this shape, is, that nearly all the front — that 

 is from the roof to within a foot of the floor — should be of 

 glass, the same as in an ordinary green house ; for, by this 

 means, the birds inside will receive benefit from the sun, 

 though it may shine only for a moment or two, and at 

 the same time be effectually protected from the weather 

 outside, no matter what it may be. Even on a winter's day, 

 when there is no sun at all, a house facing the south, having a 

 glass front, with a substantial back wall, will be many 

 degrees warmer than one facing the other way; and birds 

 will be quite comfortable in it, whilst they would be chilled 

 and miserable in the other. If it is not thought advisable 

 to have the slope to the back, but the other way, then the 

 front must be of glass, as already stated ; and it will be as 

 well to have glass windows (about three feet square) in the 

 roof, at the lowest part of it, divided by, say, three feet 

 of the roof itself, so that in a house twelve feet long 

 there would be two windows in the roof. If the house 

 faces south, a window can be inserted in each end, near 

 the front ; if south-east, in the western end only ; and if 

 south-west, in the eastern end only. Portions of the front 

 of the house should be made to open, so that in fine weather 

 the birds can get in and out quite easily. A large door will, 

 of course, be wanted ; and it will be worth the extra cost 

 to have water spouting put round the roof, as thus the drip- 



