Handling, Leghorns on Limited Ranke 
A GROWING INDUSTRY.—Among the liill farmers 
of this section of New York State there 1ms 
heen for the last five years an increasing interest in 
keeping S .C. White Leghorns to produce eggs for the 
New York City market. Many of the general and 
dairy farms down on the lowlands now have in¬ 
cluded. us a part, of the regular equipment, a long 
henhouse and a good-sized flock of Leghorns. With 
these farmers, to whom poultry is a side issue, is 
also a class who are specialists. They have small 
places of two to 20 acres, exceedingly rough and 
barren, some of them, and outside of a trade which 
i.. plied a month perhaps out of the twelve, their 
sole occupation is egg farming. Of course no two 
of these farmers handle their Leghorns exactly 
alike, and there is no especial system prevailing in 
this section: hut it does seem that the flocks that 
have the least ground to run over are paying the 
highest dividends. In all cases where Leghorns 
Part I. 
layers. Poor undeveloped birds have no place here. 
Dark unsanitary houses, houses ill-planned for 
the admission of sunlight and fresh air, may do 
where the birds have the run of the farm, but they 
surely spell failure under this system. Proper equip¬ 
ment is essential to success. As the laying houses 
must lie convenient for feeding, cleaning and general 
tunning labor, and moreover, must he comfortable at 
all times. Winter and Summer, for the birds, no cost 
should he spared on them. Long houses with the 
sited or combination roof .are the best, and these 
should he at least 10 ft. deep. Build as deep as con¬ 
ditions will permit up to 22 ft. The reasons for this 
depth are that deep houses are warmer in Winter, 
more practical in floor space for the birds, and 
cheaper of construction. A point regarding height: 
On a 10 or 18-ft. house build the front S ft. and the 
hack 4% to 5 ft. high to top of plates. This may 
seem low at first, but after one severe Winter the 
WINDOWS AND CURTAINS.—Many people find 
a suitable front the hardest part in the planning of 
the house. With a little thought to its purpose this 
is comparatively easy. The front of a henhouse 
must serve the dual purpose of keeping it dry and 
light. Muslin curtains are used to retain some heat 
and still allow fresh air to enter—they are the 
“safety valve" of the house. Windows are used to 
admit light during inclement weather when the cur¬ 
tains must be closed. Too much glass in the front 
tcmis to aggravate the cold in Winter and the heat 
in Summer. The curtains, being open most of the 
time, should be placed as high as possible in 
order to avoid draughts on the floor, and to throw 
the sunlight back into the pens. Experience teaches 
that curtains work best when they are built to slide 
up and down. The windows should be placed some¬ 
what lower, and on either side of the curtains, and 
these, too, should be built to open handily. There 
have been adopted, and well eared for. there has 
been realized a liberal profit. The results obtained 
by these farmers certainly prove that the White 
Leghorn hen is well adapted to close confinement 
and highly forcing methods. 
YARDED FOWLS.-—Limited space is not a serious 
handicap. Leghorn hens confined to the house or a 
small well-shaded yard that is kept scrupulously 
clean will produce more eggs than those ranging 
over the farm. But it must not he inferred that 
breeders or growing pullets will do well under these 
close conditions. Some provision that will provide 
natural conditions must be made regarding them in 
order that big healthy pullets can he raised each 
season. I shall suggest a brief plan for this in a 
later issue under the subject of yards, but breeding 
and growing fine pullets is another proposition alto¬ 
gether front handling layers, and 1 do not think the 
two should he too closely mixed in discussion. 
SANITARY HOUSING.—The necessity of having 
good vigorous stock and proper equipment must be evi¬ 
dent to anyone considering this method of handling 
A Floek of Business White Leghorns. Fig. 2. 
virtue of tlie low roof will be quite evident. These 
dimensions provide ample head room for the at¬ 
tendant. and they certainly make a warm house. 
BUILDING MATERIALS. — Having determined 
upon the type of house you wish to build—tHe State 
College at Ithaca will help you here—make up your 
mind to build well. The floor, roof, back and ends 
of a henhouse must be absolutely airtight. This is 
comparatively easy to attain in the back and ends 
by means of roofing paper outside and wall hoard 
applied to the rough sheathing inside. The best 
possible floor for a henhouse, located where the soil 
is wet and cold, is made of two thicknesses of rough 
inch boards laid tightly with roofing paper between. 
This makes a dry floor, and one that is warm in 
spite of there being a pen beneath it. Building the 
house at least 1 ft. off the ground and open under¬ 
neath insures dryness, permanence and freedom 
from rats. Never use concrete floors unless it is 
really possible to have them dust dry. Where drain¬ 
age will permit there is no floor better than the 
natural earth. 
is no reliable rule to follow for the dimensions of 
the windows and curtains. My openings are as fol¬ 
lows: For a pen 16x20 ft. two curtains 0x4 ft., 
centrally located, with two 12-pane windows of 7x0 
in. glass; for a pen 20x20 ft. two curtains lixo ft., 
also centrally located, with two Is-pane windows of 
SxlO in. glass. Of course it must he remembered 
that the size of the openings depends entirely upon 
the local conditions. The figures I have given are 
merely suggestions taken from houses that have 
proven very satisfactory here in the Catskill Moun¬ 
tains. 
SUMMER CONDITIONS.— When the house is 
well planned to be comfortable in Winter some con¬ 
sideration must be given to the Summer conditions. 
As the liens are to he kept indoors most of the time 
during the hot weather, some provision must lie 
made to keep the house cool. Locating it in the 
shade of a few large maples will help a great deal; 
but still, the house must be so constructed that fresh 
air can circulate through it. For this purpose place 
a door in either end. and make the doors of the 
