A REVOLUTION IN EGG PRODUCTION 27 



side of the roof. Through these windows the sunshine will 

 be admitted to the back part of a very wide house. These 

 windows can be covered with muslin for summer use, or can 

 be left open entirely in very warm weather. Windows placed 

 in the low front will admit air and sunshine into the front 

 side of the house. 



With a little common sense, we will thus have under our 

 control opportunities for plenty of ventilation without drafts, 

 winter or summer. 



Dust boxes should be provided in sunny spots, and dust- 

 ing material should always be kept in good supply in these 

 boxes. 



Sifted coal ashes make good dusting material. Wood 

 ashes are not suitable, because of the lye content. Road dust, 

 or good dry earth is good dusting material. Sand may not 

 prove entirely satisfactory for this purpose, because of its 

 being too gritty. Some poultrymen depend on the condition 

 of the floor to furnish dusting material. It is safer, however, 

 to provide separate boxes for this purpose. 



The floor and litter should always be dry. At times it is 

 easier to say this than to secure the condition. In a small 

 house, especially, the dampness gets in during the winter, 

 by means of snow on the feet, and by the moisture of the 

 atmosphere condensing in varying degrees on the walls, ceil- 

 ing or roof. This condensed moisture, when it melts, drops on 

 the floor and dampens the litter. This condensing can be 

 governed to a great extent by ventilation, but cannot be elim- 

 inated altogether in extreme temperatures, without providing 

 more ventilation than is good for the fowls. 



The roost poles should be sprayed or washed with kero- 

 sene, or a mixture of kerosene and disinfectant, every few 

 weeks to destroy mites and other vermin. 



Theoretically, the house should also be whitewashed 

 every year or two. Whitewashing has two points in its favor ; 

 first the sanitary or purifying effect of the whitewash on the 

 walls, and second, the effect on light conditions, as the white 

 walls will reflect a great amount of light. 



Whitewashing a poultry house with a brush will not 

 prove a very pleasant task, however, and if the roost poles 

 are kerosened, and a dust bath is always kept .available, a 

 less frequent application of whitewash will prove practical 



