446 
difficulty in fireless brooders. This plan commends itself to 
the amateur who has but little time to give to raising his flock. 
When selecting a breed, thought must be given to the 
place where the birds are to be kept. If the hens are to be 
allowed the run of the lawn, the choice may well be from 
among the white varieties, for they are highly ornamental. 
The plumage is easily soiled, however, and the white birds 
are shining marks for hawks. In the open country, where 
these depredatory birds abound, it is better to keep the 
darker colored varieties. 
The Brown Leghorns, which are so famous as egg layers 
that they frequently are spoken of as ‘“‘egg machines,”’ are 
small and exceedingly active birds. ‘They will wander long 
distances and fly over fences which will easily confine the 
larger breeds. It is sometimes necessary to stretch poultry 
wire across the top of the yards, or even to clip their wings. 
The larger the yards, however, the less likelihood that the 
hens of any breed will try to fly out. Moreover, if wire Is 
used, and if there is no bar at the top, there will be less 
danger of the birds’ escape, for they will not be able to 
distinguish the top of the fence, and can fly only at random. 
Shade of some kind should be provided in the yards. A 
good plan is to grow a climbing vine over 
the fence, or sunflowers may be planted 
just outside; but best of all are a few trees 
in the yards. Plum trees are particularly 
well adapted to this purpose, and will 
yield bountifully. If very small houses 
and yards must be used, it often is possible 
to let the hens have the run of the outside 
premises for an hour just before dark. 
They will do but little damage and will 
return to their house as daylight begins to 
fall. It is possible for them in this way 
to get all the grass and clover they need, 
thus lightening the work of the person in 
charge of the flock. 
The house for a flock of twenty-five 
hens need not be large or expensive. 
Twenty-five dollars or a little more ought 
to cover its cost, unless architectural fur- 
bélows of some kind are desired. If the 
floor area is ten by twelve feet it will be 
large enough. A house which is nearly 
square 1s much better than one which is 
long and narrow, being warmer and giving 
the hens more apparent room to move 
about. The more the fowls are confined 
to the house, the more room they will need. If they can be 
outside or in a scratching-shed for much of the year, four 
square feet for each bird will be room enough. If confined 
to the house much of the time, six square feet should be 
allowed for each bird. 
The shed-roof style of house is the simplest and the 
easiest to build. It should be four feet high on the inside 
at the rear, and six to eight feet in front, so that the at- 
tendant can walk about without stooping. Of course, a fair 
pitch of roof is required in order to carry off the water 
quickly. ‘The poultry house may be constructed of matched 
boards, covered with shingles or with one of the prepared 
roofing papers, the latter being the cheaper. Paper should 
not be used on the interior, as it tends to make the house 
dark. The inside walls of the house may be whitewashed 
several times a year to advantage, both to make the house 
light and to keep down insect pests. 
The house may be lighted by a long glass window at the 
front, or by the newer plan of combining glass and burlap. 
In any case it should face the south or southeast, so that it 
will receive the morning sun. Shed-roof houses with large 
openings in front are often used. It is customary to have 
ion 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
Pia 
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White Plymouth Rock Rooster 
December, 1911 
muslin or burlap curtains tacked to light wooden frames, so 
arranged that they can be dropped over the openings on 
extremely cold nights or in stormy weather. Additional 
protection is sometimes provided by another curtain, which 
may be dropped directly in front of the perches at night, 
thus forming what is called a roosting closet, where the 
fowls keep themselves warm by their own animal heat. A 
device of this sort is easily made, and is excellent in any 
kind of house in sections of the country where the tempera- 
ture runs very low. 
Probably the best house for the amateur with a few hens 
is one which has a single long opening without glass, but 
with a muslin curtain tacked to a frame and hinged above, 
and one glass window, somewhat smaller. They can be 
arranged in any way desired, keeping always in mind that 
the opening without glass should be high enough so that the 
wind will not blow directly on the birds; that the glass 
window should let the sun reach the floor of the house early 
in the morning, and that sunlight should reach every part 
of the house, so far as possible, some time during the day. 
Occasionally a small window built in the west side to admit 
the afternoon sun is desirable. Prof. Rice, of the agricul- 
tural college at Cornell University, has 
devised a house, using both glass and mus- 
lin, which is nearly ideal for the amateur 
with only a few hens, as well as for the 
professional poultryman with flocks of 
many hundreds. 
Certain it is that the old-fashioned 
houses, built to be as warm as possible 
and sometimes even heated with stoves, 
were entirely wrong in principle. The 
natural temperature of poultry is much 
do not need coddling. Fresh air is much 
more necessary than heat. ‘The principal 
point to keep in mind is that the house 
must be dry and free from drafts. That 
means that the roof must be tight and that 
there should be no cracks in the walls. All 
the air must come from one direction. It 
is not well to expose the birds to biting 
winds or to let storms beat in on them. A 
fine rooster which was kept all night in an 
open-front house, with the temperature 
around the zero point, showed no ill ef- 
fects, but when allowed in the yard about 
10 o'clock in the morning his comb was 
frosted within anhour. ‘The combination of glass and muslin 
is advantageous for several reasons. On a bad day the 
muslin will keep out the elements, but the glass window will 
let in needed light, for muslin, although translucent, permits 
the passage of less light than glass. Even when closed, the 
muslin allows the entrance of sufficient outside air to main- 
tain good ventilation. And one will be surprised to find 
the temperature only a degree or two colder than when 
glass alone is used. 
Considerable expense is saved if a dirt floor is used in 
the amateur’s poultry house, but if the location is a damp 
one, or if rats are numerous, a cement floor will be better. 
If earth is used, the floor should be built up several inches 
higher than the outside level, and the top layer of earth 
should be replaced at least once a year in order to maintain 
sanitary conditions. A deep litter of leaves, hay or straw 
should be placed on the floor whether dirt or cement be 
used, and when the hens are confined the grain should be 
fed in this litter in order to induce exercise. Every spring 
this litter should be removed, and it can be used to advan- 
tage in the garden as a mulch and a fertilizer. 
The amateur will minimize his work by feeding only dry 
th Ree Hen 7 
higher than that of human beings, and they — 
