CHAPTER XXIII 



Artificial Incubation 



In the rearing of poultry the incubation of eggs by means of 

 artificial heat has been in existence for a great number of 

 years, though in a somewhat crude form, as all sorts of devices 

 were originally, but not very successfully, employed for such 

 purposes. When we are told that the manure heap could be 

 utilised for the hatching of the eggs of the domestic fowl, one 

 can easily understand that such crude methods could not be 

 of a very reliable order. 



It is only during this last thirty-five years or so that 

 artificial incubation has been carried out with any approach 

 towards success, but it is now, especially in the rearing of 

 poultry, one of recognised value, and its universal employment 

 is sufficient evidence of its utility. The remarkable improve- 

 ments that have taken place, even during this last few years, 

 in the manufacture of incubators, foster-mothers, and other 

 rearing appliances, is truly wonderful, and these remarks not 

 only apply to Great Britain and the Colonies, but also to the 

 Continent, and above all to the United States, where the 

 poultry industry is carried out on a large scale, and in a 

 distinctly progressive manner. 



The artificial rearing of Pheasants constitutes an integral 

 part of most of the principal game shoots within the British 

 Isles, and owing to the enormous number of birds that are 

 annually reared on some estates, it is distinctly advantageous 

 to utilise any appliances that will economise labour, provided 

 such usage is compatible with successful results. 



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