Some fifteen years ago it was generally considered for a hen to do at all well she must have at least twenty square feet of floor space. Later, the number of feet was divided by half, and for some time ten square feet was considered to be the very least a hen could possibly do with. Then we come to the four square feet period, and this created a great deal of controversy. Many writers declared that it was impossible for any hen, no matter how housed, to do well in such a restricted space. At times, some visionary writer pictured a flock in one house, of what was then considered an enormous size. One Professor of poultry went so far as to state that he had successfully kept some three hundred hens in one flock, and had obtained most satisfactory results. This statement, however, was denied by others, and the Professor wrote an article in which he set forth that, while he had done this, he would never think of suggesting that the average poultry-keeper attempt it. In his statement there were some truths that it is well to remember, namely, that the average poultry-keeper would not give the flock the care and supervision necessary to keep it in health. In other words, the poultry-keeper would not attend to the necessary cleanliness, and disease would break out, and, in the average poultry house, under such conditions, this would mean the total annihilation of the flock. [Illustration: THREE STERILE LAYING HOUSES CONTAINING 4500 PULLETS, WITH A FLOOR SPACE OF 7680 SQUARE FEET] Draughts the Stumbling Block As economy of space and labor is one of the main factors in getting a commercial profit where poultry is operated with, the large flock system appealed most strongly to The Corning Egg Farm. Long houses, under one roof, without divisions, had been attempted by others, and the endeavor to discover the reason for the failures, where this had been attempted, was a very interesting study. It was found that the main stumbling block in houses of this type was draughts. To eliminate the draughts was the problem we then undertook to solve. It was found that if the houses were built in sections of twenty feet, and the partitions which divided the house into roosting closets were extended twelve inches beyond the dropping boards, and were carried from the floor to the roof, the air currents were broken up, and the difficulty of draughts was overcome.