16 
Upstairs place a two-sash window reach- 
ing from 6 inches below the plate to the 
floor; every 16 feet is enough, and two 
on each end smaller and set higher up 
above roost level. Have a door in each 
end. Downstairs the whole front is wire 
in. with a wire door under each window. 
The ends and back are tight with a door 
under eazh window at the ends and every 
8 feet on the back. Make the back doors 
opening alternately right and left, so that 
they can be partially oponed in any wind 
when needed. Place ten nest boxes on 
legs 12 inches from floor on each side, 
and run roosts not over 6 feet long and 
22 inches apart at right angles to the 
length of the building. If the building is 
wide enough (over 18 feet), this gives 
between each set of windows a set of 
seven roosts on each side with a central 
passage between them for cleaning and a 
possage on each side for egg-gathering. 
The simplest roost isa piece of 2 x 2 
inch, slightly rounded on the top, bored 
on the lower side halfway through, and 
set on a 2-inch iron rod driven into the 
floor. If your floor beams are 22 inches 
from centres, the kest plan is to put 
them through that space, a very little 
below floor in line of irons and bore one 
inch into leader. ; 
In front of each north window in line 
of roost is a trapdoor 3 feet long and the 
width of the space between tloor beams, 
Running in from the north side cf this 
opening to a support 2 feet from the 
lower dirt floor in the centre of building 
is the runway, giving the fewls free passage 
up and down. This is best made of siding 
lapped uphill to catch their feet, and 
being caught below by a notch or slide 
can be slid up at night. Figuring that a 
hen is entitled to 8 inches of roostiug 
room, youcan put in your building as 
many hens as your roosts will hold with- 
out fear of crowding. 
The care of 2,000 hens thus housed 
does not take over feur working hours a 
day, distributed as follows :--At sunrise 
open trapdoors, and in cold weather south _ 
windows if the day is bright If not, do 
not open windows any more than they 
have been open all night until the sun 
becomes warm. Mixed grain is thrown in 
licter and water troughs filled. We use 
10-foot galvanised 4-inch gutter set in 
frame 12 inches from ground, with run- 
ning board 6 inches from ground, and 
trough covered with slanting roof to keep 
hens out of water. The plumber will 
solder in encs and hole for cork. In very 
cold weather a pail of hot water is put in 
each trough to take off the chill before 
cold water is putin. Duri: g the morning 
the hoppers are kept filled if yon use the 
dry feeding method; if not, mash is fed 
at 11 o’clock ; then green food given then 
(cabbage, rutabagas, mangels, svgar beets 
in cold weather, lawn clippings for eight 
montks in the year), At night eggs are 
gathered, and mixed grain thrown in 
litter, and after they have gone to bed 
the house is closed up, the windows closed 
in accordance with the weather, but never 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
tight ; the water troughs washed clean 
and left as simple and sure as the above. 
If you are not a born ‘chicken crank,’ 
avoid the business as you would the itch, 
for its attention to detail will drive ycu 
to drink, or, what is worse, lead you to 
shirk, fail, and condemn the poullry busi- 
ness as a financial failure, but if you enjoy 
the work, and get pleasure from the idio- 
syncrasies of your hens, then start a small 
unit, and grow with t em until you have 
reached your ‘ hen-keeping’ capacity. 
A Monster Egg. 
Says the Agricultural Journal of the 
Cape of Good Hove .—Mr G. J. H. Schurr, 
of Marchwood, Sunninghill Road, Wyn- 
berg, brought to this office during last 
month a monster fowl’s egg, This egg, 
which was weighed and measured in this 
office, turned the scale at 177 7 grammes, 
or a fraction over 6} ozs. avoirdup-is. 
The dimensions were about 3} inches 
long, with a circumference hat way of 
9 inches, while the width was ?4 inches, 
with a circ .mference that way of 73 inches 
at the widest part. The egg was laid by 
a White Leghorn hen of a good laying 
strain. She is about 20 months old, and 
is in hersecond season. The egg appeared 
to have two yolks, but on being acciden- 
tally broken it was found to contain only 
one. This is the largest hen’s egg that 
has come to our personal knowledge 
Perhaps some of our readers may be able 
to give some information as to whether it 
j8 or not a record for size and weight. 
Don’t sacrifice the producers; they are 
the only source of continuous preduction. 
Even with high food it will pay to 
fatten the market stock ; indeed it will 
pay better now than under cheap feed 
conditions. 
Where space is limited, large quantities 
of ereenstuff can be grown indoors, in 
outhouses and sheds in boxes. ‘The 
warmth and moisture makes for rapid 
growth. 
66 Ay 
Fustralian 
Gardener ” Office, 
Corner Pirie & Wyatt Sts. 
Send us along a trial order. 
December 1, 1907 
To Correspondents. 
W. Srockron enquires whether it is 
possible to grow camphor trees profitably. 
—The camphor tres will grow in any 
ordinary climate where but no more than 
a few degrees of frost occur. It is said by 
good authorites that it cannot be profit- 
ably grown anywhere but in Japan. This 
has been proved incorrect, for in South 
California there are trees growing with 
trunks 2 ft. in diameter at the base. 
The cainphor tiee is not particular as 
to soil, growing equally well in light loam 
or heavy clay, and does not reqnire as 
much water fer its best development as 
tte English walnut. At any rate it is now 
certain the trees can be grown profitably 
outside Japan. 
_H. Mannrnc.—Below we give you an 
ilustrtation which we think will be a 
good auswer to your question as to the 
best method of budding roses. 
There is no danger that the dairy busi- 
ness will soon be overdone. It will never 
be so conducted that prime articles will 
be supplied in excess of the market, 
Progress is the keynote. Modern dairy- 
ing demands skill in stock breeding, care 
in feeding, attention to details in hand- 
ling milk and milk products, and shrewd- 
ness in selling. The past decade shows 
advancement mainly in feeding the cows 
and caring for the milk, though progress 
has also been made in the art of breeding 
and in marketing the products of the 
dairy. Wiser feeding has reduced the cost 
of milk production. The dairy outleok is 
a good one. 
