46 
HOUSE & GARDEN 
tically all those who have kept 
abreast of the times. It has been 
learned that fowls do not suffer 
from temperatures as low as zero 
if their houses are free from damp¬ 
ness and drafts. Their natural 
body temperature is higher than 
that of human beings, and Nature 
has clothed them warmly. They 
have one tender spot — the comb — 
and it is not wise to expose birds 
which have long combs to zero 
weather; yet this does not mean 
that tight houses with glass win¬ 
dows must be used for such breeds 
as Leghorns and Anconas. These 
breeds will thrive in just the same 
type of house as Plymouth Rocks 
and Wyandottes, if a curtain of 
burlap or muslin is dropped in front 
of the perches at night. These cur¬ 
tains may hang from wires and rest 
against the dropping board, or the 
cloth may be tacked to light frames 
hinged to the ceiling and dropped 
at nightfall. They are to be used 
only in extreme weather, when they 
will prevent frozen combs while 
allowing an abundance of fresh air 
to reach the roosting birds. 
The Tollman Fresh-Air Type 
No form of fresh-air house 
should be less than 10' deep, and it 
is very desirable to add 2' more. In 
a shallow house the wind will blow 
directly upon the birds at night, 
which is not as it should be. The 
extreme type already mentioned, 
commonly known as the Tollman 
house, has greater depth than 
width and a double pitch roof. An 
ingenious theory, used by the ad¬ 
vocates of such houses, claims that 
the air in the house acts much in 
the fashion of a pneumatic cushion. 
Trapped by the shape of the build¬ 
ing, it acts as a buffer to the air 
outside, so that everything is per¬ 
fectly calm and quiet at the end 
where the perches are located, even 
when a gale is blowing outside. 
Poultry houses of this kind have 
one common fault—they do not ad¬ 
mit sunlight to all of the interior, 
and, as sunlight is the best germi¬ 
cide and general disinfectant 
known, it ought to be made wel¬ 
come. Quite naturally, therefore, 
we are introduced to the semi¬ 
monitor type of poultry house, 
which is deep and also sunny. 
W hen this kind of house was built 
with windows years ago it had little 
to commend it, but now that the 
lower windows have been removed 
and fresh air allowed free ingress 
it is a very practical sort of house 
indeed and well adapted to north¬ 
ern sections, where the days are 
short in winter. 
The semi-monitor house had a 
double pitch roof, but the rear slope 
is high enough to allow for a row 
of windows above the front slope. 
The front may be left with from 
one-half to one-third entirely open, 
although many poultry keepers like 
to have muslin curtains in frames 
hinged to the sides or top for use 
in very stormy weather or when a 
Fresh air colony houses of the shed roof type may be con¬ 
structed at an average cost of fifty dollars tor fifty hens or 
may be purchased ready made 
Houses of the semi-monitor type have a double pitch roof, but 
the rear slope is high enough to allow a row of windows. 
Such a foundation will exclude rats 
Stucco board cuts the cost of construction at least 1 0 per cent. 
Th is material, which comes in squares and is nailed to the 
frame, is rapidly growing in popularity 
Field stone may be employed effectively when one’s residence is 
of the same material. Naturally such a building is more 
expensive than a frame house of the same size 
gale is blowing. Such a house has 
perfect ventilation, protects the 
liens from the wind and yet allows 
the rear walls as well as the scratch¬ 
ing pens in front to be flooded with 
sunlight. With the upper windows 
closed, the air-cushion theory ap¬ 
plies favorably and the house is 
convenient to work in. It may be 
18' or 20' deep and as long as the 
owner’s needs require, being di¬ 
vided into pens 10' wide. The 
semi-monitor type may seem to the 
amateur to be constructed on some¬ 
what elaborate lines, but it is very 
satisfactory all the year around. 
A Serviceable Building at 
Minimum Cost 
The average amateur usually 
erects a house of the conventional 
shed-roof type, and generally shows 
good judgment in so doing. If it 
is to he comfortable to work in, the 
house should have a front eleva¬ 
tion of about 7', while the rear wall 
should be 4' high. There is no 
satisfaction in caring for hens in a 
house so low that one has to walk 
about in a round-shouldered atti¬ 
tude. 
A shed-roof house should have 
perfectly tight rear and side walls, 
but it is not necessary to have 
them double boarded. Single walls 
of unmatched boards covered with 
roofing paper may be used, or the 
boards may be of a better quality, 
matched and painted. In any 
event, the boards should be planed 
on the inside, for then they will 
hold less dust. When the roof has 
only a moderate slant, paper is a 
better covering than shingles, and, 
if the slope is toward the north, 
will last a long time. Paper is 
warmer than shingles in winter, 
and also in summer, the latter be¬ 
ing a disadvantage; but if openings 
for ventilation are made in the rear 
wall just under the roof the house 
can be kept comfortable. These 
openings should have tight-fitting 
shutters for winter protection. 
Shed-roof houses built by most 
practical poultry keepers nowadays 
have either a combination of mus¬ 
lin and glass in the front wall or no 
glass at all. The arrangement I 
have found most satisfactory after 
years of experimenting has a long, 
horizontal opening in the front wall 
about 3' above the floor which is 
fitted with a muslin-covered frame. 
Under this opening is a single sash 
of glass, the bottom being almost 
level with the floor. The long open¬ 
ing lets in an abundance of air, but 
is so high that the wind does not 
blow directly on the fowls. It also 
allows the sunlight to flood the rear 
wall, but it is necessarily so high 
that the morning sun does not shine 
on the floor where the birds are. 
The low window, on the other hand, 
admits the warm rays as soon as 
the sun is up, and the hens love to 
bask in them on cold mornings. 
The Cost of Construction 
The matter of costs is naturally 
of importance, but it varies greatly 
