1850 TiiK Cornell Reading-Courses 



be used. Before replacing the lamp, the oil should be carefully wiped 

 off with a cloth kept for the purpose. 



Trimming the wick. — The wick should be trimmed so that it will 

 produce a square, clean-cut flame. The proper method of trimming 

 the wick is to throw back the top of burner, turn the wick down sHghtly, 

 and cut away the burned part. A putty knife is best for this purpose. 

 The charred part shoiild be simply shaved off, and no attempt should 

 be made to cut into the wick. Scissors should not be used, for too 

 much of the wick is likely to be cut away or the wick tube may be pinched. 



Cleaning the burner. — Before cleaning the wick tube, the wick should 

 be turned down in order that it may not be disturbed and the flame thus 

 be made irregular. All the black material should be removed by sand- 

 paper, a knife, or any sharp instrument, and the tube should be wiped 

 with a cloth. Care should be taken not to bend the wick tube; such 

 bending will prevent the wick from working freely. The other parts 

 of the burner should be cleaned thoroughly. The screen around the 

 wick tube should be cleaned once each week, and the burner should be 

 boiled at least once each season in hot water containing washing powder. 



Regulating the flame. — ^A new wick or one that is newly trimmed should 

 be watched at first in order to prevent the flame from running up and 

 smoking. The flame should be maintained sufficiently high to keep the 

 temperature at the proper degree and to keep the disk raised slightly during 

 the day. In case the room temperature drops at night, the surplus heat 

 will be used to prevent a drop in temperature in the egg chamber. If the 

 flame flickers, the operator should look for a broken isinglass in the heater 

 and should see that the burner is in place and is working properly. 



Regulating the heat. — • The heat is regiilated by turning the adjustment 

 nut that is above the regulator bar on the connecting rod. By turning 

 the adjustment nut to the left until the disk over the heater drops flat 

 on the exliaust of the heater, all the heat will pass into the incubator 

 and the temperature will be increased. By turning the adjustment nut 

 to the right and thus raising the disk, the heat will be allowed to escape. 

 When the proper degree of temperature has been reached, the thumb- 

 screw should be turned until the^disk is about one eighth of an inch above 

 the heater. When the amount of heat is once correctly regulated, the 

 temperature will vary only slightly if proper care is given to the lamp 

 flame. Changes in the temperature of the air outside should be met 

 by altering the lamp flame, not by changing the regulator; as the chicks 

 develop, however, more heat will be given off from the eggs, and the result- 

 ing increase in temperature will necessitate changing the regulator. The 

 eggs should never be placed in the incubator until the temperature is 

 properly regulated. 



