1 June, 1900.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 489, 
them from being profitable by retarding their laying. A good strip of wire- 
netting or perforated zinc, about 1 foot wide, placed round two sides of the 
building, just under the roof, will afford ample ventilation. The roof, on the 
sides where the netting or zinc has been placed, should be allowed to project 
about 1 foot from the walls, in order to prevent the rain drippings from falling 
on the inside of the house, and thus making the floor damp and unhealthy. A 
piece of zine may be placed at one of the gable-ends of the house, and a blind 
so fixed that it can be moved up and down; or a shutter may be put up, to be 
closed in winter, when the weather is cool, or during rain. The shutter 
should be left open in the daytime in winter, and be closed at night 
The houses should always be kept well whitewashed, as by this means all 
insects will be kept down Put plenty of lime in the solution. The perches 
should be next arranged, and the house will be then ready to be occupied by 
the fowls. The perches should always, whenever practicable, face the light, as 
fowls always roost with their faces in that direction; and great care should be 
taken not to have the perches too high—rather haye them a little low—for 
birds such as Cochins, Brahmas, Dorkings, &c., are liable to injure themselves 
when flying down, and for this reason I would recommend that they be adjusted 
not more than 18 inches from the ground, and up to 5 feet for fowls such as 
Leghorns, Minorcas, Game, &c. ‘The perches should be round, about 13 inches 
in diameter ; sephies of that diameter, with the rough notches taken off, make 
excellent roosts. rdinary kerosene boxes divided into two compartments will 
be found to make very good nests, a good layer of fine ashes being put upon the 
bottom to a depth of about 5 or 6 inches, then a sprinkling of lime, and, lastly, 
a good thick layer of straw with a china nest-egg in each compartment—taking 
care to remove all fresh-laid eggs at sundown. ‘The nest-boxes will be the 
better for being kept in a fairly dark position, and should be put in a room 
separated from the roosting sheds, if possible, as all fowls will then be prevented 
from roosting on the edges of the boxes. _ By putting lime in the boxes, lice, 
&c., will be kept down, and the hens will be much more comfortable, especially 
when rearing chickens. ‘The nests should be overhauled every six months, and 
new lime, ashes, and straw put in. 
In large yards, where great numbers of chickens are hatched annually, it 
will be found necessary to have a shed built in which the coops can be arranged 
for the first week or two after the chickens are hatched, or when the weather is 
wet, as wet weather is highly detrimental to chickens at that stage of their 
existence. The building will be found to be of immense value, and the 
mortality amongst the chickens will be very much reduced. This shed is not 
only useful in the above way, but, as the young birds have to be fed the last 
thing at night, a she.l of this sort to feed them in will be found most conventent. 
In the shed a lantern should always be at hand, which will throw suticient light 
to see all round the building. The position of the shed is an important 
consideration. The site on which to build a fowlhouse is one which faces the. 
soath, south-east, or south-west, but never north-east. The floor should be 
very dry to the depth of several inches, and it would be as well to follow the 
advice given re floor of fowlhouse. Upon the floor a good layer of sand about 
an inch thick should be placed, and, if kept in order, it will always be dry and 
sweet, and the coops can be placed on it without bottoms. The sand should be 
raked over daily, and renewed every six months. ‘The house should be perfectly 
dry and be in the vicinity of the owner's residence, in order to facilitate the 
attention that must be paid to the sheds, chicks, &c., if poultry-farming, as far 
as housing goes, is to be a success. 
NEEDED REFORMS IN POULTRY JUDGING. 
In is highly necessary that the committees of management of agricultural 
shows should ask themselves the question whether they are spending the funds 
of the societies in a wise and legitimate manner as regards the poultry exhibits 
