POULTRY. 567 



Partially close the left hand, letting the thumb and forefinger lap; hold the egg between the 

 thumb and two first fingers of the right, under the fingers of the left, and turn slowly between 

 the eyes and the light. If it is perfectly clear, lay it aside; it is not fertile; and will not 

 hatch. Fertile eggs will show a dark spot on one side, appearing greater or less as turned 

 on either side of the line of vision. At this stage the progress of incubation varies very 

 much, some eggs appearing half opaque and others with only a discernible spot. The novice 

 must expect to sacrifice some eggs in acquiring this knack, and to that end it were better to 

 put in twenty or twenty-five eggs expressly for experimenting upon. 



This is the most precarious time during the whole process of incubation the fifth, sixth, 

 and seventh days. At this stage a heat of 106 will sometimes spoil a whole batch of eggs; 

 while on the seventeenth day I have held the heat at 11 5 for over two hours, and yet hatched 

 out seventeen chickens from twenty eggs. All fluctuation must be avoided if possible; the 

 heat should be steady at 102 to 103; the eggs aired twice a day, from fifteen to twenty 

 minutes each time; and a slight but perceptible moisture maintained in the drawer. A dry 

 heat is much more difficult to regulate, and much more dangerous to the life of the unhatched 

 chick. 



After the seventh day a little more latitude may be allowed in the temperature without 

 fatal results, but I would not be understood as advising it until after the tenth day, at which 

 time the heat should be slightly increased, say to 102 to 103^. From this time forth air 

 the eggs once a day, leaving them exposed from twenty minutes to half an hour. During 

 this period the moisture may be kept up, and if anything slightly increased; the object being 

 now to keep the litlle prisoner in a healthy growing state, which cannot be done without 

 moisture. Very many persons fail at the eleventh hour the eighteenth or nineteenth day 

 from this cause. I will mention one case in illustration: A gentleman living some eight 

 miles from me, after seeing my incubator, constructed one himself from ideas of his own. 

 It was made to hatch chickens on a large scale, holding about 1,000 eggs. He started with 

 500 eggs, and everything progressed finely until about the sixteenth day; at that time he 

 called on me and stated how he was getting along, saying that he thought my practice of 

 keeping a constant moisture under the eggs was a fallacy. 



He had commenced with it, but after the first week had given it up as too much trouble. 

 I cautioned him about the result, but he expressed so much confidence, said he had broken 

 several eggs that morning, and all contained live chicks, that I concluded there was perhaps 

 a show for success, and so told him. But on the twenty-second day he visited me again: he 

 had not hatched a single chicken; all were dead in the shell, and all seemed to be full 

 formed. A few of the eggs were pipped, but the outer skin was as dry and tough as a piece 

 of parchment, and the poor chick was as hopelessly immured as if it had been enclosed in 

 sheet iron. He was positive that the heat had not exceeded 104 nor been less than 100; 

 so the failure was attributed to no other cause (apparently) than lack of moisture. I can cite 

 a number of just such instances which have come to my notice, and in all of them the 

 failure was due to the same cause. 



One of the most essential requisites for success is cleanliness. One bad egg in the drawer 

 will sometimes spoil every one in its vicinity during the second week of incubation; after 

 that there is not so much danger. It will frequently happen that eggs will upon first 

 examination be passed as fertile and yet prove bad. After the tenth or twelfth day examine 

 the eggs closely every day, and if any exudation in the shape of drops of fluid or gummy 

 matter be discovered on the eggs, removed the affected one at once. To show the variation 

 of temperature the eggs will bear during the third week, I will give my experience at the 

 fair of the American Institute, held at Empire Rink, New York City, in September and 

 October, 18*70. The place assigned me was on the north side of a room some 300 to 500 feet 

 in size, and within about twenty feet of the receiving door. It was a great risk to attempt 

 to hatch chickens in such an exposed place, but I accomplished it. 



