522 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
Aug.  13 
To  Build  the  Model  Hen  House. 
PRACTICAL  POINTS  ItY  A  PRACTICAL  MAN. 
Almost  every  one  builds  as  somebody  else  has  built 
in  the  neighborhood.  No  improvement  is  made  in 
this  way.  Occasionally  a  man  visits  another  section 
and  brings  home  a  few  new  ideas.  A  practical  man 
originates  some  improvement,  hut  the  perfect  hen 
house  is  hard  to  find.  It  should  be  frost,  moisture, 
heat  and  vermin-proof,  situated  so  as  to  he  convenient 
in  order  to  save  steps,  large  enough  for  storage  of 
grain  and  manure,  must  have  sufficient  area  for  yards 
and  not  be  a  blot  on  the  landscape.  It  should  he 
so  made  that  the  hens  cannot  befoul  any  of  its 
appointments,  especially  the  feed  and  water  troughs, 
and  there  should  he  no  inaccessible  lodgingplaces  for 
lice.  It  should  not  he  necessary  to  go  among  the 
fowls  to  feed  and  water  them  or  to  gather  the  eggs. 
When  hens  are  used  for  hatching,  the  nests  should  be 
so  constructed  that  the  hens  can  sit  on  the  same  nests 
they  have  been  laying  in,  without  being  disturbed  by 
the  laying  hens.  When  changed  they  are  not  so  con¬ 
stant.  The  house  and  yards  must  have  divisions  so 
that  the  hens  can  be  kept  in  flocks  of  not  over  30  to  50 
if  the  highest  success  in  egg  production  is  sought. 
Perfect  ventilation  must  be  provided  for  and  enough 
space  to  provide  pure  air  without  draughts.  The  pens 
should  show  the  fowls  to  advantage.  Accustom  them 
to  seeing  people,  and  not  compel  or  permit  them  to  be 
among  their  droppings  during  the  day.  The  house 
should  be  neat,  not  expensive,  and,  last  but  not  least, 
so  constructed  that  it  will  not  make  a  slave  of  a  man 
by  requiring  constant  daily  cleaning.  I  have  been 
studying  these  points  for  years  and  my  next  house 
will  be  made  after  the  following  plans  : 
Select  a  dry  knoll ;  if  there  is  none  one  should  be 
made,  or  a  hill-side,  so  that  the  house  will  stand  east  and 
west,  and  the  ground  slope,  if  possible,  away  from  it 
in  all  directions.  Throw  out  18  inches  of  earth  where 
it  is  to  stand.  Dig  out  a  trench  a  foot  deeper  where 
the  walls  are  to  stand.  After  laying  a  small  drain 
which  will  drain  off  to  one  corner,  fill  with  broken 
stones  to  the  surface  of  the  floor.  Lay  a  solid  wall  of 
stone  and  mortar  a  foot  above  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  and  fill  against  it  on  the  outside  with  the  ex¬ 
cavated  earth.  This  will  insure  good  drainage,  give 
protection  from  rats  and  frost,  and  prevent  currents  of 
air.  I  would  use  earth  for  the  floor  if  the  soil  is  dry, 
but  if  moisture  rises  from  below,  I  would  put  in  a 
board  floor. 
For  a  sill,  bed  in  mortar  a  2x6-inch  plank  even 
with  the  inside  of  the  wall.  Nail  two  boards  to¬ 
gether  like  a  trough,  and  nail  them  to  the  sill  at  the 
corner,  plumb  it,  and  you  have  a  post.  Board  up  on 
the  outside,  and  to  these  nail  the  plate,  every  board 
acting  as  a  post.  Put  on  the  rafters.  Fit  a  board  and 
nail  it  on  the  outside,  so  that  there  will  be  no  openings 
between  the  plate,  rafters  and  roof  boards.  Shingles 
give  a  greater  uniformity  of  temperature  than  metal 
or  felt  roofing.  Put  one  row  of  joists  the  long  way, 
supported  by  posts  where  the  partitions  are  to  be. 
Nail  2x4  scantlings  to  the  sides  for  beams,  and  nail  the 
flooring  to  them  to  prevent  the  building  from  spread¬ 
ing.  If  there  is  no  upper  floor,  put  ties  across  from 
the  plates.  Put  on  battens.  Set  up  2x4  studdings  and 
sheet  up  with  inch  boards.  Put  on  tarred  paper  and 
sheet  up  again  with  inch  boards,  taking  care  to  break 
joints.  Fill  the  space  between  the  outside  and  inside 
with  some  fine  material,  as  chaff,  buckwheat  hulls 
or  sawdust. 
Ceil  up  the  rafters  and  fill  the  space  in  the  same  way 
as  those  at  the  sides  and  ends.  Hang  the  windows  on 
hinges  at  the  top  so  that  they  can  be  raised  up  and 
fastened  to  the  floor  above  in  summer.  There  should 
be  one  window  to  each  partition,  and  on  the  south  side 
that  is  plenty  for  the  lower  part.  One  or  two  small 
ones  on  the  side  and  one  on  the  end  opposite  the 
entrance  are  enough  for  the  upper  story.  Have  shut¬ 
ters  that  will  swing  to  one  side  in  winter  and  rise  up 
as  awnings  in  summer.  The  door  to  the  lower  story 
should  be  in  the  end  on  the  north  side,  opening  into 
the  alley.  Entrance  to  the  upper  part  should  be  from 
the  outside  in  the  center  of  the  end  and  also  from  the 
alley  by  stairs  inside.  The  roosts  should  be  level, 
made  of  round  poles  with  the  bark  peeled  off,  and  ex¬ 
tend  the  long  way  of  the  building  on  each  side,  leav¬ 
ing  a  walk  through  the  center.  The  partitions  with 
doors  divide  the  flock  above  as  well  as  below.  A  hole 
cut  through  the  floor  in  the  corner  of  each  pen  gives 
access  to  the  roosts.  A  slanting  ladder  enables  the 
fowls  to  ascend,  but  will  not  catch  and  hold  drop¬ 
pings.  By  the  proper  use  of  plaster  and  road  dust  the 
droppings  need  not  be  cleaned  out  oftener  than  once 
in  two  or  three  months.  They  will  be  dry,  giving  off 
no  odor  when  stirred  up.  An  alley  2 M  feet  wide  ex¬ 
tends  the  whole  length  on  the  north  side.  In  this  can 
stand  barrels  tilled  with  food  supplies,  road  dust  and 
shells. 
In  the  partition  which  forms  the  alley  have  doors 
admitting  the  attendant  to  each  pen.  Four  light 
pieces,  nailed  together  and  covered  with  wire  netting, 
make  a  good  door.  Nail  brackets  on  to  the  door 
posts.  Put  a  2x2  piece  across  from  post  to  post,  held 
in  place  by  the  brackets.  Put  another  across  18  inches 
above  it.  Bore  a  row  of  holes  through  the  upper  one, 
and  put  in  small  iron  rods,  which  are  driven  into  the 
lower  piece  just  enough  to  hold  them  tightly.  The 
hens  can  stick  their  heads  through  this  screen  and  into 
the  alley  and  eat  and  drink  out  of  the  troughs,  which 
are  kept  on  the  alley  side,  but  cannot  scratch,  waste 
or  befoul.  The  receptacles  are  easily  replenished  by 
the  feeder  without  frightening  the  fowls,  and  the  hens 
are  not  continually  flying  out  of  the  open  door.  On 
top  of  the  screen  put  a  board  door  a  foot  wide.  To 
this  tack  a  six-inch  strip  on  each  side,  so  that  the  outer 
one  will  be  even  with  the  outside  of  the  posts.  Put  in 
nest  partitions  which  are  a  foot  square,  and  on  top  of 
these,  another  foot-wide  board.  These  make  nests 
which  open  into  both  alley  and  pen.  Make  a  hinged 
cover  by  sawing  a  board  10  inches  wide  and  a  trifle 
less  than  a  foot  long.  To  this  at  each  end  nail  to  the 
side  a  three-cornered  piece,  whose  point  shall  be  five 
whole  surface,  than  any  other  shape.  The  teeth  having 
a  curve  at  the  lower  ends  and  being  bent  squarely  over 
at  the  top,  can  be  so  hung  that  they  turn  as  well 
as  a  spring  past  the  plant,  thereby  destroying  the 
weeds  and  cultivating  the  plant.” 
A  Platform  for  Loading  Stones. 
The  use  of  a  stone-boat  or  drag  in  clearing  a  field  of 
surface  rocks  is  the  best  way  of  doing  it,  if  the  stones 
are  to  be  removed  only  to  an  adjoining  fence-row.  But 
if  they  are  to  be  hauled  to  some  particular  place  for 
use  as  a  wall  or  foundation  for  buildings,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  take  larger  loads  to  save  time.  A  great 
many  of  these  stones  are  too  heavy  for  one  man  to  lift, 
and  in  such  shape  that  two  men  can  scarcely  work  with 
them  at  the  same  time.  A  farmer  of  this  section  who 
occasionally  has  the  hauling  of  “  nigger-head  ”  stones 
to  do,  uses  a  kind  of  platform  as  shown  at  Fig.  222,  for 
lifting  them  on  to  the  wagon.  The  lower  pieces  are 
of  oak  or  hickory,  two  inches  wide,  2%  inches  thick 
and  three  feet  long.  The  ends  are  cut  to  the  form  of 
handles  from  the  under  side,  so  that  when  the  plat¬ 
form  is  placed  on  the  ground,  the  handles  will  be 
about  an  inch  above,  thus  leaving  room  for  a  man  to 
place  his  fingers  under  in  grasping  the  handles.  Across 
these  two  pieces  are  nailed  two  one-inch  oak  fencing 
boards  two  feet  long.  The  stones  are  rolled  upon  this 
platform,  and  two  men  can  easily  handle  them.  This 
is  much  easier  on  the  hands  than  lifting  by  taking 
hold  of  the  stone  itself.  GKO.  n.  shull. 
How  I  Became  an  Ensilage  Convert. 
From  Corn  Field  to  Cow’s  Mouth. 
inches  from  the  board.  Over  the  point  put  a  strip  of 
tin  for  a  hinge,  and  drive  a  nail  between  the  tin  and 
point  into  the  side  partition  exactly  in  the  center,  so 
that  the  cover  will  turn  either  way.  When  turned 
toward  the  alley,  the  hens  can  enter  best  from  the  in¬ 
side.  When  eggs  are  gathered  ora  hen  is  set,  the  cover 
is  turned  in,  shutting  out  the  hens.  When  the  sitting 
hen  is  hungry  or  thirsty,  she  has  access  to  the  food  in 
the  alley.  Extend  the  partition  to  the  floor  above. 
All  divisions  should  be  made  of  wire  netting.  The 
fowls  will  not  be  so  wild  as  in  close  pens,  the  attend¬ 
ant  will  be  more  likely  to  notice  anything  wrong  when 
he  is  passing  through  the  alley,  and  visitors  can  in¬ 
spect  the  flock  without  going  among  them,  frighten¬ 
ing  them  or  soiling  their  own  clothing.  All  inside 
work  should  be  put  together  so  that  it  can  be  readily 
taken  apart  and  carried  out-of-doors.  This  gives  a 
chance  to  thoroughly  cleanse  the  parts  without  tearing 
the  things  or  breaking  the  boards. 
A  building  should  be  14  feet  wide,  eight  feet  high  in 
the  lower  story,  three  feet  high  from  floor  to  the  plate 
in  the  upper  one,  and  10  feet  in  length  for  every  30 
hens.  Nothing  but  common  hemlock  lumber  is  needed, 
and  the  cost  will  depend  on  the  cost  of  lumber  in  the 
builder’s  section.  Most  or  all  of  the  work  can  be  done 
by  “  home  talent,”  and  the  money  actually  paid  out 
need  not  exceed  $75  for  a  building  40  feet  long. 
The  cheapest  fence  is  made  by  setting  posts  solidly 
so  that  they  will  be  about  four  feet  above  the  ground. 
Nail  together  two  boards  a  foot  wide  from  the  bottom. 
Nail  narrow  strips  six  feet  long  to  the  posts  on  the 
outside,  the  bottom  resting  on  the  top  board.  Stretch 
No.  11  wire  along  the  top  of  the  strips,  fastening  it 
to  each  with  a  staple.  Wire  the  top  of  six-foot  net¬ 
ting  to  the  long  wire,  and  draw  the  bottom  down  and 
fasten  to  the  boards.  This  makes  a  substantial  fence 
which  is  not  expensive,  and  which  will  hold  the  hens 
and  chickens.  The  wind  does  not  rack  it  as  it  does  a 
picket  fence.  The  cost  for  material  is  about  85  cents 
per  rod.  c.  k.  chapman. 
A  New  Weed  Killer. 
We  have  said  that  the  success  of  Breed’s  weeder  lias 
started  up  a  regiment  of  inventors  who  hope  to 
improve  on  this  implement.  One  of  the  best  we  have 
seen  is  pictured  at  Fig.  221.  It  was  invented  by  Mr. 
Warren  Vreeland,  one  of  our  subscribers  and  a  great 
friend  of  The  R.  N.-Y.  He  has  patented  it  under  the 
name  of  Vreeland’s  Automatic  Weed  Exterminator 
and  Smoothing  Harrow — a  name  altogether  too  big 
for  the  comfort  of  the  tool.  The  cut  shows  how  it 
looks  and  Mr.  Vreeland  gives  this  description  : 
“It  measures  about  seven  feet  across,  being  wide 
enough  to  work  two  rows  at  a  time,  which  is  four 
times  the  work  done  by  ordinary  cultivators.  Being 
triangular  in  shape,  it  will  gather  less  trash  and 
small,  flat  stones,  with  ippre  certainty  qf  touching  the 
1*.  H.  MONROE. 
(Concluded.) 
Handling  the  Corn. — For  cutting  the  corn  in  the 
field  I  have  used  the  Empire  platform  twine-binder 
with  satisfaction  in  small  varieties  like  Pride  of  the 
North.  I  have  also  used  knives  attached  to  the  sides 
of  a  low  wagon,  and  they  work  well  in  ordinary  corn 
when  it  stands  up.  Two  men  take  the  corn  from  the 
knives,  a  boy  drives  the  team,  and  they  must  go  alow. 
When  the  corn  is  down  or  in  our  big  ensilage-corn, 
the  knives  won’t  work  ;  so  the  wagon  moves  alongside 
the  standing  corn  and  one  man  with  a  sharp  corn 
knife  cuts  the  tall  stalks  with  one  hand,  while  the 
other  guides  them  to  fall  across  the  wagon.  No 
driver  is  needed  and  there  is  no  heavy  lifting,  as  there 
would  be  were  the  stalks  allowed  to  fall  to  the  ground 
and  afterwards  raised  to  the  wagon.  The  wagon  used 
is  shown  at  Fig.  223.  It  is  of  my  own  invention  made 
with  especial  reference  to  my  actual  needs  on  the 
farm.  It  is  low  and  can  be  loaded  from  either  side  as 
well  as  from  the  ends,  thus  saving  many  a  high  lift 
and  long  journey.  For  unloading,  we  use  rope  slings, 
long  enough  to  encircle  about  half  a  ton.  Before 
loading,  the  sling  is  laid  on  the  wagon,  and  when 
sufficient  bulk  has  been  loaded  the  ends  of  the  rope 
are  brought  together  and  fastened.  The  man  who 
has  cut  and  loaded  the  corn  now  drives  to  the  barn. 
Entering  at  one  end  of  the  driveway  of  the  first  or 
ground  floor,  he  stops  the  wagon  under  the  opening  in 
the  floor  overhead  where  hangs  the  lifting  hook  from 
the  hay  carrier.  Having  adjusted  this  to  the  sling, 
he  descends  from  the  load  and  hooks  the  draft  rope  of 
the  hay  carrier  to  the  rear  axle  of  the  wagon  ;  then, 
as  the  team  is  driven  forward,  the  load  is  lifted 
through  the  opening  overhead  and  swung  over  the 
large  table  of  the  cutter  The  driver  now  unhooks 
the  draft  rope,  picks  up  another  sling  and  goes  for 
another  load,  if  the  field  is  nearby.  If  it  is  distant, 
two  slings  are  used,  and  he  drives  around  and  into  the 
barn  again,  elevating  the  second  draft  as  he  did  the 
first.  The  man  at  the  cutter  pulls  the  trip  cord  and 
the  load  is  laid  on  the  table  in  just  the  right  shape  for 
easy  feeding  into  the  cutter,  and  he  always  gets  it 
through  quickly  enough  to  have  a  few  moments’ 
time  in  which  to  place  the  empty  slings  handy  for  the 
driver  to  pick  up,  and  give  the  team  in  the  power  a 
short  rest. 
By  this  method  there  is  no  hard,  heavy  work  in  till¬ 
ing  a  silo.  The  ensilage  is  cut  in  one-inch  lengths, 
elevated  to  the  purline  plate,  falls  on  a  distributor — 
a  box  or  board — and  is  scattered  all  over  the  silo.  No 
more  tramping  is  done  than  enough  to  level  the  sur¬ 
face  four  or  five  times  during  the  day,  as  no  distribu¬ 
tion  will  scatter  all  corn  just  right. 
When  the  silo  is  full,  the  contents  are  allowed  to 
settle  a  few  days,  and  the  filling  of  the  next  silo  is 
commenced.  After  the  ensilage  has  settled,  enough 
is  added  to  fill  the  silo  “heaping  full,”  and  this  is  again 
allowed  to  remain  a  few  days,  when  it  will  have  set¬ 
tled  sufficiently  to  allow  the  heap  to  be  spread,  which 
will  fill  the  silo  about  level  full.  It  is  now  covered 
with  about  two  tons  of  the  same  material,  except 
that  the  ears  are  picked  off. 
Covering  and  Feeding  Out. — When  the  silo  is  full 
and  covered,  no  more  attention  is  given  it  until  opened 
for  feeding,  unless.,  as  sometimes  happens,  steam  rises 
