Houses for Hens 75 



but have all the expense of tile and are not con- 

 venient to handle. 



Brick and stone are costly, and are likely to be 

 damp and cold. They are not equal to wood. 



Cement is not suited for building houses for 

 poultry. Concrete and solid masonry draw mois- 

 ture during damp weather, just as a wick does oil. 



There is no question that wood is the best and 

 cheapest material under ordinary conditions. 



The lumber for poultry houses need not be new, 

 but the sills and timbers should be firm and strong, 

 for they will be depended on to stand the strain of 

 time and weather. 



In buying lumber, southern pine boards of 

 second quality milled with tongue and groove 

 make very satisfactory material, at a compara- 

 tively low price. Spruce and pine are good, and 

 easier to work with than the southern pine, but in 

 many places they are more expensive. Any lum- 

 ber that is available in your locality will probably 

 give adequate service. 



LOCATION 



Yard or no Yard. — The first question to settle 

 is where the house shall go, and before this is 



