102 OSTKICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



the egg" is turned the germ will come to the top ; and 

 all that is required to effect the wonderful change of 

 this mass of liquid to the natural chick with its solid 

 bones, muscles, flesh, and vital organs, is the application 

 of a certain amount of heat given in a certain manner. 



So much the Great Creator has permitted man to 

 discover, but what this vital spark is He alone knows. 

 It is generally supposed to proceed from the male only, 

 the female simply receiving it on one of her ova, and 

 in mammals stamping her impress upon it during the 

 period of gestation. But this can hardly be so with 

 aves, as witli these the germ so quickly leaves the 

 female, after which she can exercise no influence 

 over it. 



The popular delusion is that the yolk contains the 

 materials that go to compose the chick. But this is 

 not so. The albumen contains the whole, the yolk 

 simply feeding the embryo and the chick for the first 

 few days after its birth ; though we may suppose that 

 a considerable chemical change takes place, as the 

 yolk, which was at first yellow, becomes green by the 

 time the chick comes forth from its shell, and the 

 yolk-sac is taken into the abdominal cavity, which 

 closes over it. The amount of the yolk that must be 

 consumed prior to the chick hatching must be very 

 small, as up to that time it has only lost about one- 



