410 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



cated where it can be read wthout disturbing the machine, are 

 all necessary and among the strong points of a good incubator. 

 In addition to these, there are a good lamp — one with a good 

 burner and a good chimney — a good regulator, a good strong tray 

 properly placed and a good, roomy nursery tray below." 



A good incubator having been purchased, the place to put 

 it is next to be considered. The location should be one that is 

 not subject to too great changes of temperature. A cellar, if it 

 is well ventilated (pure air being a necessity) and not too damp, 

 may prove to be a good place. Drafts are to be avoided, nor 

 should the direct rays of the sun be allowed to fall upon the ma- 

 chine, which should stand perfectly level. 



Next comes care. The best machine, properly placed, will 

 prove a failure unless carefully cared for. With each machine 

 are complete instructions which should be carefully studied, then 

 followed. The operator should do his experimenting before the 

 eggs are placed in the machine, never after. With this object 

 in view, the machine may be started some time before it is to be 

 filled. Care should be taken to see that the regulator is working 

 perfectly. The eggs should be tested as directed, say at the end 

 of the seventh, tenth and fourteenth days. Do not handle the 

 eggs with greasy hands. Beware of too much heat in the machine. 

 More chickens have been cooked than were ever frozen to death, 

 and more chicks have been hatched in over-heated incubators than 

 were ever raised. Keep the lamp filled and cleaned, having regu- 

 lar hours for the work, and use none but good oil. Finally, re- 

 member that "too many cooks spoil the broth." Let one person 

 manage the machine. 



Dr. J. H. Casey, in writing on "The Science of Poultry," 

 touches upon incubation as follows: 



"Why do chickens die in the shell and fail to come to ma- 

 turity? By some the lack of moisture is advanced as the sure 

 reason ; by others, the variation of the heat in the incubator. Now 

 both may have a show of reason, and yet from the results alone, 

 neither may be right. The study of nature's laws as carried out 

 by the instincts of the hen is the only positive way by which we 

 may learn just what is necessary to obtain success. There are 

 laws which govern this process, and these laws must be copied 

 exactly to get the same results which nature produces. In this 

 we are dealing with the problem of life and the vital questions 

 which produce and sustain it. What are these laws? Heat, as 



