Farmers’ Bulletin, No. 141, says: “Poultry houses need not be elaborate in their fittings or expensive in construction. There are certain conditions, however, which should be insisted upon in all cases. In the first place, the house should be located upon soil which is well drained and dry. A gravelly knoll is best, but, failing this, the site should be raised by the use of the plow and scraper until there is a gentle slope in all directions sufficient to prevent any standing water even at the wettest times. A few inches of sand or gravel on the surface will be very useful in preventing the formation of mud. If the house is sheltered from the north and northwest winds by a group of evergreens, this will be a decided advantage in the colder parts of the country.” In “Building Poultry Houses,” Professor Rice says: “Poultry keeping is an exacting business. The four corner-stones upon which success rests are: (1) Suitable buildings, properly located. (2) The right foods, skilfully fed. (3) Good fowls, carefully bred. (4) Facility and ability to hatch and rear chickens.” Here we find that “suitable buildings, properly located,” is the first, hence most important, of the four corner-stones upon which success with poultry rests, and in giving the buildings this prominence we believe the professor is entirely right. No one thing does more to promote, or hinder, success with poultry than the buildings, hence the importance of a wise decision as to which of the many different patterns of houses is best adapted to your purpose. [Illustration: FIG. 1—A plan to secure dryness.] _Select a dry location_; if the ground is not naturally dry make it so by draining it. The first illustration gives a plan for making the interior of a poultry house absolutely dry, if the ground is fairly well drained. The foundation walls are built up about eighteen inches above the ground level; about twelve inches of this space is filled in with small stones or coarse gravel, and the balance with fine sand or dry, sandy loam; on the outside the ground is sloped up to the level of the bottom of the sills, and thus all surface water is effectually turned away. [Illustration: FIG. 2—The shape of the roof influences the cost.] [Illustration: FIG. 3—Each of these houses require the same material.]