POULTRY-HOUSES 113 
four feet from the ground. The bottom windows are fixed and the 
upper ones are movable for purposes of ventilation. These houses 
are favoured in the north of England, where the climate is more 
severe, but I do not think they are necessary. My own farm is 
in a cold region, 600 feet above sea-level, and I never find that the 
open-fronted house is too cold for the birds. Of course in case of 
snow or extreme cold the windows can be closed all but a few inches 
for ventilation. 
But success in poultry, though bound up with good and adequate 
housing, has nothing to do with a special design of house. MrS. G. 
Hanson, one of the largest commercial egg-farmers in England, 
has all his houses made on the open-front principle, and they 
differ only in detail. A house that is good enough for a successful 
man like Mr Hanson should be good enough for the amateur, the 
backyarder or the small-holder. 
In building a poultry-house one should see that the timber is 
sound and dry. Good seasoned wood should be used, so that there 
will be no shrinkage when the house is completed. The best 
wood to buy is matching, which is tongued and grooved so that the 
boards fit tightly into each other and present the appearance of a 
continuous board marked by slight lines. Matching is sold by the 
‘square ’’—that is, with a surface of 100 square feet. If the boards 
are 6 inches wide a square consists of a 200 feet run of wood. 
The boards may be had at various thicknesses. No doubt it is 
best to build of one-inch wood, as experts invariably recommend, 
and if price was no object the advice would be all right. One-inch 
matching, however, is usually just double the price of, say, 3 inch 
matching, and the latter may be used for small houses most success- 
fully. The only proviso is that all houses built of anything under 
one-inch matching should be covered, back, roof and sides; with tar- 
felting. Tar-felting is a cheap substance that serves a wonderfully 
good purpose. It effectually closes all leakages of air or water ; 
it preserves the wood and adds to the warmth-giving quality of 
the structure. I have a house made of 3 inch matching, covered 
with tar-felting, that is as comfortable and durable as any house 
made from one-inch wood. 
H 
