60 PROGRESSIVE POULTRY CULTURE 



hundred chickens are to be hatched yearly, this plan is 

 usually satisfactory. 



As a rule mature fowls are better than pullets at 

 incubathig eggs. 



Successful hatching depends largely upon the se- 

 lection of good sitting hens. Birds of the American 

 class cf breeds, such as the Plymouth Rocks,, Wyandottes 

 and Rhode Island Reds, usually make excellent hatchers 

 and brooders. 



Asiatic breeds, like Brahmas and Cochins are per- 

 sistent sitters but sometimes are too heavy or clumsy 

 for the safety of the eggs. 



Fowls of the Mediterraneean class, such as the Leg- 

 horns and Minorcas rarely become broody until they are 

 several years old. Though small in size they then make 

 good sitters in the majority of cases. 



Hens that are very nervous, pugnacious or cold 

 blooded should not be chosen for the hatching of 

 chickens. 



SELECTING AND FURNISHING THE SITTING PLACE. 



It is well to set apart a room or hen-house for the 

 exclusive use of the sitting hens during the hatching 

 season. If this place has been used for poultry or is 

 likely to have harbored vermin, it should be thoroughly 

 cleaned out, sprayed with two per cent, solution of car- 

 bolic acid and fumigated with burning brimstone be- 

 fore using as a hatching place. 



Ventilation should be provided for, so that fresh, 

 pure air will fill the room continually. If the room has 

 a window of two sashes, the lower one may be raised 

 several inches and a board inserted to fill the space below 

 it. Fresh air can then come in between the two sashes, 

 at the middle of the window, without danger of the wind 

 ever blowing directly upon the sitting hens or upon the 

 eggs in the nests when the birds are off feeding. In mild 

 weather a better plan is to remove the sashes and cover 

 the window frame with burlap or cotton cloth. The 

 window space may be protected by wire netting if ne- 

 cessary. 



