Finishing off.—­The doors are now hung, and fitted with buttons and padlocks.  The stops should be on the doors, not on the frames, where they would prove an obstruction in a somewhat narrow opening.  Perches should be of 2 by 1 inch wood, rounded off at the top, and supported in sockets at each end so as to be removable for cleaning; and be all on the same level, to avoid fighting for the “upper seats” among the fowls.  A loose floor, made in two pieces for convenience of moving, will help to keep the fowls warm and make cleaning easier, but will add a few shillings to the cost.  The inside of the house should be well whitewashed before fowls are admitted.  To prevent draughts the triangular spaces between the roof boards and rafters should be plugged, but ample ventilation must be provided for by holes bored in the ends of the house at several elevations, the lowest 2 feet above the base.  Handles for lifting may be screwed to the faces of b and b2 halfway between the door frame and the corners.

VII.  A SHED FOR YOUR BICYCLE.

The problem, how to house one or more cycles, often gives trouble to the occupiers of small premises.  The hall-way, which in many cases has to serve as stable, is sadly obstructed by the handles of a machine; and if one is kept there, the reason generally is that no other storage is available.

If accommodation is needed permanently for two or three cycles belonging to the house, and occasionally for the machine of a visitor, and if room is obtainable in a backyard or garden in direct communication with the road, the question of constructing a really durable and practical cycle shed is well worth consideration.  I say constructing, because, in the first place, a bought shed costing the same money would probably not be of such good quality as a home-made one; and secondly, because the actual construction, while not offering any serious difficulty, will afford a useful lesson in carpentry.

[Illustration:  Fig. 16.—­Cycle shed completed.]

Cycle sheds are of many kinds, but owing to the limitations of space it is necessary to confine attention to one particular design, which specifies a shed composed of sections quickly put together or taken apart—­portability being an important feature of “tenants’ fixtures”—­and enables fullest advantage to be taken of the storage room.  As will be seen from the scale drawings illustrating this chapter, the doors extend right across the front, and when they are open the whole of the interior is easily accessible.  The fact that the cycles can be put in sideways is a great convenience, as the standing of the machines head to tail alternately economizes room considerably.

[Illustration:  Fig. 16.—­Plan of corner joints of cycle shed.]

I ought to mention before going further that the shed to be described is very similar, as regards design and dimensions, to one in a back issue of Cycling.  By the courtesy of the proprietors of the journal I have been permitted to adapt the description there given.[1]