REMODELLING OLD POULTRY HOUSES 175 



laying house for poultry. Such practice can be secured by 

 purchasing a small and rather dilapidated building from 

 some one in the neighborhood. Only a very small building 

 should be used, as larger houses would entail too much work 

 and expense. 



Exercise No. 35. — Improving Poultry Houses. — ^A num- 

 ber of poultry houses in the immediate vicinity can be visited 

 and suggestions made as to changes which would make them 

 more efficient. Such, for example, as more light, better floors, 

 more roost room, etc. Such a discussion will aid in fixing 

 the desirable points in mind. Full notes should be taken 

 on each house studied. 



Exercise No. 36. — Laying a Concrete Floor. — Valuable 

 experience in laying concrete floors can be secured by pur- 

 chasing one or more bags of cement and, if no poultry houses 

 are present on the school grounds, a door step, or a piece of 

 sidewalk, can be laid in the same manner. Concrete floors 

 or walks should consist of three layers. First an under or 

 drainage layer consisting of six inches of cinders or stone. 

 Above this a layer of concrete consisting of one part of 

 cement, three parts of sand and five parts of cinders or stone. 

 This mixture should be thoroughly mixed before any water 

 is added; it should then be mixed with water until all is 

 added that will hold without running off. This rough coat 

 should be well tamped and left rough to better hold the 

 finish coat. The finish coat should be made about one inch 

 thick and should consist of one part of cement to three of 

 sand. It is best to finish the top coat smooth. This can be 

 done with a flat piece of board or a plastering trowel. When 

 it is desired to build steps, or to form any piece of concrete, 

 leaving square corners and plane vertical surfaces, it is best 

 to use wood forms, which should be lightly nailed together 

 so that they can be easily removed. Concrete should be 

 allowed to harden at least forty-eight hours before it is 

 stepped on. 



