WITH 4200 HENS 71 



and facing it. A thermometer, known to be registering 

 accurately, is hung from the bottom of the alarm-thermo- 

 stat, also facing the stove, the bulb hanging about 2 

 inches above the straw. The inlet air shaft is openea 

 about one inch and the outlet shaft about three inches 

 on the bottom slide, the upper slide being kept closed. 

 The heat is run up to 95 degrees. The alarm is set to 

 ring the bell if the heat drops to 90 degrees (this is 

 brought about by shutting ofiE the stove), or if the heat 

 rises to 100 degrees. Under ordinary weather conditions 

 the space between either the hot or the cold contact points 

 will be about the thickness of a worn dime ; but nothing 

 short of experimenting will determine the exact setting. 



The house is allowed to warm up gradually rather than 

 by forcing the stove. As already said, it may be neces- 

 sary to extend the warming-up and testing out experi- 

 ments over a period of several days. When the proper 

 adjustments have been reached the stove is shut off until 

 the day before the chicks are due to arrive. On the morn- 

 ing of that day it is started up again; and it continues 

 running from that time on. The burner is cleaned and 

 scraped some time during the morning of the day the 

 chicks are to arrive so that it will not need attention just 

 after the chicks are in the room. 



A ring of 1-inch mesh netting, 12 inches high, about 

 14 feet in diameter, covered with muslin, is set around 

 the stove. This is to keep the chicks from straying. The 

 muslin is fastened to the netting at the top by stitching 

 thread, and is on the inside of the netting, it must be 

 fastened in place with the netting set in the form of a 

 circle ; if the netting is laid flat the muslin will bulge and 



