48 ^ EGG MONEY 



that arrangements were made with its owner which enables 

 the Station to study the practical application of many of 

 its own findings on an extensive, intensive business plant. 

 Of the hundred acres of land comprising the farm, thirty 

 acres immediately at, and overlooking the village of Orono- 

 was fallowed and tilled for a year, then seeded to clover 

 and grasses, in order to bring it into good condition for 

 poultry farming. 



A Laying House for 2,000 Hens. 



During the summer of 1905 a laying house was built 

 to accommodate 2,000 hens. It is 20 feet wide and 400 

 feet long. It is on the same general plan as houses Nos. 

 2 and 3 at the Experiment Station. House No. 2 is 12 

 feet wide; house No. 3 is 16 feet wide, and this one is 20 

 feet wide. The widths have been increased in the last 

 2 houses, as experience has shown the advisability of it. 

 At first it was thought the houses should be narrow so they 

 might dry out readily, but the widest house dries out satis- 

 factorily as the opening in the front is placed high up, 

 so that in the shortest winter days the sun shines in on the 

 floor to the back. 



The economy in the cost of the wide house over the nar- 

 row ones, when space is considered, is evident. The front 

 and back walls in the narrow house cost about as much per 

 lineal foot as those in the wide house, and the greatly increas- 

 ed floor space is secured by building in a strip of floor and 

 roof, running lengthwise of the building. The carrj'ing 

 capacity of a house 20 feet wide is 66 per cent greater than 

 that of a house 12 feet wide, and it is secured by building 

 additional floor space only. The walls, doors and windows 

 remain the same as in the narrow house, except that the front 

 wall is made a little higher. Three sills which are 6 inches 

 square run lengthwise of the house, the central one support- 

 ing the floor timbers in the middle. They rest on a rough 

 stone wall, high enough from the ground so that dogs can 

 go under the building to look after rats and skunks that 

 might incline to make their homes there. The stone wall 

 rests on the surface of the ground. The floor timbers are 

 2x8 inches in size and rest wholly on top of the sills. All 



