EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 229 



in shipping a rest of twenty-four hours is needed to enable them to 

 assume a normal condition and to permit the germs to swing back in 

 place before incubation begins. If the misplaced germs start to grow, 

 a large percentage of them will die during the period of incubation. 



STORI-XG EGGS FOR HATCHING. 



In general, eggs cannot be set the day they are laid. Place thom 

 in a room where the temperature is fairly constant and at about G0° F. 

 Turn them carefully at least once a day. If the air is very dry, sprinkle 

 the floor with water, or place a fcAv pans of water in the room, other- 

 wise there may bo a rapid evaporation of moisture from the egg, leaving 

 a big air cell in the large end of it. One can readily determine the 

 n mount of evaporation by marking the air cell while holding the egg 

 in a ray of light passing into a darkened room and then examining it 

 again in the same manner after a couple of days. There should be a 

 very slow increase in the size of the air cell. Eggs intended for incuba- 

 tion should be kept no longer than is absolutely necessary. Two weeks 

 is about as long as it is safe to keep them, although with good care, 

 under proper conditions, they may be kept longer. The fresher the egg, 

 the more likely it is to hatch a good strong chick. Many farmers prac- 

 tice setting the eggs from one day's laying, which is not objectionable 

 providing proper care has been exercised in sorting the flock to secure 

 sufllicient eggs of uniform size and color. 



^Vhen the hens all run together and the finest shaped eggs from the 

 whole flock are chosen, increased egg jields cannot result, as the chances 

 are that some of the hens that have been laving well all the fall and 

 winter are now ready to sit. Those that have not laid for months are 

 the most likely to do so for a few weeks in the spring, and often produce 

 fine large eggs, due, perhaps, to their long winter's rest. The use of 

 eggs from such hens can only result in deterioration of the flock. 



INCUBATION. 



NATURAL OR ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION. 



After selecting the eggs they must either be entrusted to hens or an 

 incubator; this must be decided according to circumstances. If it is 

 not the intention to keep many hens or raise early chicks, by using one 

 of the heavier breeds of fowls, one can get along very well without an 

 incubator. Some poultry raisers claim they can care for a machine with 

 less trouble and expense than the necessary hens, no matter what breed 

 they may keep. One thing is certain, however, the machine will bring 

 off chicks at any season of the year that may be desired, while one must 

 wait until the hens get ready to sit. If Leghorns or other non-sitting 

 breeds are kept, an incubator is an almost indispensable part of the 

 equipment. Some individuals of non-sitting breeds may make good 

 mothers, but so many of them cease sitting after the first few days 

 that they are very unsatisfactory, as a rule. If individuals of other 



