The difference between the health of fowls thus cleanly and warmly housed, and that of those compelled to roost in a dark, damp, dirty habitation is very great; these latter never becoming in good condition. So injurious is damp and cold, that I have known instances in which all the inhabitants of a poultry house have been attacked with violent catarrh terminating in roup, from an east window having been left open on a cold wet night; and it has been found by experiment, that scrofula may always be produced in chickens by confining them in damp, cold, and dark habitations. I have found that exceedingly economical and efficient poultry-houses may be built against any wall that is conveniently situated, the sides and front being boarded, and the roof formed of inch deal boards, laid closely edge to edge, up and down the slope, and projecting over the sides and front so as to throw off the rain; the top should be covered with thin cheap calico tightly strained, and, by brushing this over with a good coating of coal-tar, it is cemented to the roof, which is thus rendered water-tight. The patent Asphalte felt forms a cheap and warm roofing, but it also requires to be tarred over, in order to resist the weather. If the poultry-house is tiled, the downward current of cold air in winter, may be prevented by lining the roof with straw supported by laths nailed to the rafters; and in other cases I have found that stout brown paper, oiled or painted, and tacked smoothly to the under side of the rafters, has been very efficient in increasing the warmth of the house, and consequently the production of eggs in winter. FEEDING. There is, perhaps, no subject on which a greater diversity of opinion exists among poultry keepers, than respecting the relative value of the different substances used as food. This difference of opinion arises from the general ignorance that prevails with regard to the true principles of feeding. It cannot be too strongly impressed on all feeders of stock that the food eaten has to serve several distinct purposes when taken into the body. One portion is consumed in supporting the natural warmth of the animal; another set of substances supplies the nourishment required for the growth of the body, and replaces the daily wasting that occurs; a third yields the materials from which the bones are formed; and a fourth supplies the fat which is stored up in the bodies of animals; we may, therefore, speak of the following classes of foods:-- 1st. _Warmth-giving Food._--As starch, which forms almost the entire bulk of rice, and the solid portion of potatoes; gum, sugar, &c. 2nd. _Flesh-forming Food._--As gluten, &c., which exists in large proportion in wheat, oatmeal, peas, beans, middlings and sharps, and in somewhat smaller quantity in barley, Indian corn, &c. 3rd. _Bone-making Food._--Which is found in larger proportion in the bran, or outer part of the grain, than in the inner parts.