THE KIND OF HOUSE TO BUILD 27 



to use one-inch mesh netting, so that sparrows will be 

 kept out, as these birds often steal much more grain 

 than they are entitled to, for any good they do. A 

 house of this type, in use at the Perdue University 

 Agricultural Experiment Station, Lafayette, Ind., is 

 illustrated. The bottom of the window is low 

 enough so that there is direct sunlight on the floor 

 of the house early in the morning during the win- 

 ter months and the opening is made high enough 

 from the floor so that the wind will not blow di- 

 rectly on the birds. In a house of this character 

 almost every interior part is reached by sunshine 

 at some time in the day. 



In these fresh-air houses the muslin curtains are 

 not to be used except when the mercury is unusually 

 low or when the rain is being driven in. Their only 

 disadvantage is the fact that they collect a great 

 deal of dust and need to be cleaned frequently, so 

 that light may penetrate them. It is a good plan 

 to have them on pin hinges, so that in Summer they 

 may be taken down by drawing the pins, and put 

 away until cold weather comes again. 



It is a common practice in very cold climates to 

 have a second set of curtains in front of the perches, 

 to be dropped when necessary. Such curtains should 



