11 Aug., 1919.J Foultri/ Rearing. 467 



The mud type, which is the most primitive, is siiapcd like an ordinary 

 barrel, 36 inches high, and 24 inches in diameter. The framework is of 

 clay or mud bricks, plastered inside and outside with mud, and on top of 

 the incubator is an opening which permits an inverted bell-shaped 

 receptacle to fit in. About 12 inches from the bottom of the machine 

 there is an aperture on the side which serves as a furnace door. 

 Charcoal supplies the necessary fuel for heating. The eggs are placed, 

 when ready, in a basket, which is put into the receptacle at the top. 



The second type of incubator is similar to the first in shape and 

 size, but the materials used are different. The body, or framework, is 

 an earthenware receptacle, the external part being a straw-woven mat, 

 which serves to retain the heat. 



The third one, the muslin-covered, is the simplest of the three in 

 structure. The body is a' sugar barrel, 3 feet high, 2 feet in diameter. 

 The interior is well padded with felt or muslin, and the cover or lid is 

 likewise padded. The heat is supplied by a stove, 6 inches in diameter, 

 7 inches high, wider at the top, and narrower at the base. Charcoal is 

 used, and a sliding door controls the amount of air. The compartment 

 in which the incubators are located is also heated, the object being to 

 secure a uniform temperature sufficient to enable the eggs to be removed 

 from the incubator on the fourteenth day. The capacity is roughly 

 400 to 500 hen eggs, 300 to 350 duck eggs, or 150 goose eggs. 



Placing the Eggs in the Machine, etc. 



When the incubator is at the desired temperature a piece of muslin 

 30 inches square is placed on the table, and the eggs, after being tested 

 for " cracks," are put on the muslin. The four corners of the muslin are 

 then brought together, and the eggs are gently lowered into the 

 incubator, the edges being folded so as to cover the surface of the eggs. 

 The second and subsequent layers are prepared in like manner, the 

 number of layers depending on the capacity of the barrel. 



The reading of the temperature is an art which the Chinese poultry- 

 men have developed. The ordinary incubator thermometer is unknown 

 to them. To determine the temperature, three or four eggs are taken 

 out and pressed against the eye of the operator. (This system has been 

 found admirable by some Australian poultry-men for determining the 

 eggs which contain live chickens on the nineteenth day of incubation. 

 The air chamber end of the egg rapidly cools outside the incubator, and 

 a marked increase will be noted in temperature against the eye at the 

 lower end of the egg, if it contains a live chick.) 



The eggs are turned three or four times daily. The lid is taken off 

 the incubator, and the first layer put in a bamboo tray. The eggs are 

 turned by pressing the palms of the hands over them. This layer is 

 then transferred to an adjoining incubator, and the process continued 

 until all the eggs are turned and placed in the second incubator, the top 

 layer in one incubator being in consequence the bottom layer in the 

 other. 



Testing takes place on the fourth day, a small hole being cut in the 

 wall of the room, and the eggs are " candled " against the sun. The 

 infertiles are then sold as " fresh." 



Between the fourteenth and seventeenth days the eggs are removed 

 from the incubator, and placed on the shelves on round trays, and left 

 until hatched. 



