8o The Hen at Work 



paper over the rough coat, lapping and cementing 

 the seams, and nailing it down. One inch of finish 

 coat should be laid over the paper." 



All this, mind you, must be aided by a carefully 

 planned drainage system to carry off water from 

 all sides of the house. As a fact, with all this care, 

 such houses are hot dry, and open fronts have been 

 used to overcome the damp. 



Have you lived in a house where the cellar was 

 dry at all seasons? Few house cellars keep dry, 

 though all houses are built with a careful plan to 

 drain the water away. 



When the snow and ice pile up on the north side 

 of this house, in the late winter and early spring, 

 it is going to be damp and you can't help it. 



Does it not sound more simple to put in posts, 

 lay your sills on them, and nail a good tight floor 

 to the sill? A hen house built with the floor well 

 above the grotmd will be dry in aU seasons, and no 

 rain, snow, or slush can soak in. It wiU be free 

 from rats, as they will have no place to harbor 

 beneath it, and the cats will keep them on the 

 move, as rats seldom linger far from a safe retreat. 



The floor and sills of such a house will not decay, 

 as they would very promptly if near the ground. 



