258 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15 



shell of every fertile egg, right over the germ. 

 Right here things seem a little mixed, for, ac- 

 cording to my understanding, this germ floats 

 around. He claims that the male sperm is intro- 

 duced into the egg just before the shell hardens, 

 that it leaves a mark where it gets through, and 

 with a little practice one can find this marie on 

 every fertile egg. As I have scanned carefully 

 quite a number of eggs, and found nothing of 

 the kind, I shall have to pronounce it a failure 

 unless he or somebody else explains things bet- 

 ter. He sent me quite a pretty little thermom- 

 eter. I did not order this, and he did not 

 advertise it; but it occurred to me that his con- 

 science might have troubled him for taking a 

 dollar and not making any return of any value 

 whatever. 



Perhaps you may care to read the letter he 

 sends along with the secret: 



Mr. Root: — I am in receipt of your favor of the 18lh with $1.00, 

 for which we extend our thanks. We enclose our booklet " To 

 Select Fertilized Eggs," and send with the same mail a brooder 

 thermometer prepaid. We have no doubt that you will be as 

 successful with our mefiod as are these big commercial poultry- 

 raisers. If you have trouble in finding so many dead chicks in 

 the shells, we might advise you not to handle the eggs your- 

 self. Get a boy or giil. Some people are so full of animal mag- 

 netism streamingi from their hands that they kill the embryo or 

 germ by touching the egg. This is our dearly paid-for experi- 

 ence. Wishing you success in raising a lot of youngsters this 

 season we beg to remain Yours respectfully, 



Hornell, N. Y., March 23. A. Hoffbauer & Co. 



"Animal magnetism streaming from their 

 hands ! " What do you think of that.? If this 

 man is given to superstition he may be honest, 

 after all, and imagines he can find some marlc 

 somewhere on the egg that indicates fertility. In 

 the same inclosure with the secret is a remedy 

 for white diarrhea. Perhaps I had better give it: 



The only remedy is to wipe off all eggs, before putting in ma- 

 chine, with alcohol-whisky. This will kill the germ without 

 hurting the eggs. Used incubators and brooders should be clean- 

 ed with formalin. 



"Alcohol-whisky! " I shall have to confess 

 I do not know of any such thing; and I hope our 

 poultry-keepers can give us some germicide that 

 will do the business without the use of alcohol or 

 whisky either. What is the matter of the for- 

 malin ? 



Now, in regard to this whole matter of select- 

 ing the fertile eggs when putting them in an in- 

 cubator, 1 submitted what I have written in the 

 past few numbers to the Cyphers Incubator Co , 

 Buffalo, N. Y. They have a bureau of informa- 

 tion, you know. Here is what they say: 



1 have no knowledge of any method that has been discovered 

 to detect fertility or non-fertility of eggs the day they are laid or 

 at any time before partial incubation, and 1 have been in the 

 business many years as breeder, publisher, and manufacturer. 

 An article is being advertised by a Buffalo firm which, it is 

 stated, will detect fertility of eggs before incubation. I have 

 not tried it. It is bised upon the weight of the egg, I think. I 

 can hardly believe that fertility or non-fertility could be distin- 

 guished by weight or floating properties. It is a fact that, if a 

 single person possesses such a secret, his fortune would be made, 

 and the fact that nobody has become rich by divulging such a 

 method is proof enough to me that none exists. 



Buffalo, N. Y. RoBT. H. Essex. 



Since the above was put in type I have secured 

 the Magic eeg-tester. It is advertised in a num- 

 ber of poultry-journals. Permit me to make 

 some extracts from it: 



A NEW DISCOVERY WHICH WJLL POSITIVELY DETERMINE 

 THE FERTILE EGG BEFORE INCUBATION. 



" XX " means fertility. Every good egg registers at some point 

 on the scale of the " The Breeders' Magic Egg-tester," accord- 

 ing to its condition, and this wonderful little instrument tells in- 



stantly whether an egg is fertile or not BEFORE incubation. 

 The scale reads likela thermometer, and so easy that any 10-year 

 old child can test eggs. The fertile eggs register at " XX," and 

 the tester never fails to tell whether fertility is strong, weak, or 

 absent. Magic Egg-tkster Works, 



Department B. Buffalo, N. Y. 



This wonderful instrument is a machine for 

 getting the specific gravity of an egg. It will 

 certainly be a good thing to tell a fresh egg; but 

 the company sends out five considerable booklets 

 to tell their customers that a fertile egg is «o/ nec- 

 essarily an impregnated one. They claim that 

 most eggs are fertilized (more or less) unless there 

 are altogether too many hens together for one 

 male. Well, by selecting out the eggs that have 

 the greatest specific gravity they claim you will 

 not only get chickens, but chickens with greater 

 vitality. 



Once more, let me say this is something that 

 our experiment stations should take up and test. 

 I have urged long that our stations should decide 

 which is a fraud and which is an honest invention, 

 and it seems strange we do not get a report from 

 some one of them. I am not sure they have a 

 poultry-yard at our Ohio station. When I fill 

 my incubator again I shall most assuredly give 

 their claim a careful test. The price of the ma- 

 chine is $2.00. See Essex's letter. 



Now, out of a dozen eggs taken from a nest of 

 White Leghorns, two were found so low on the 

 scale that I would not use them for the incubator 

 or hens; and one more that registered almost up 

 to the unfertile egg makes three out of twelve 

 that the machine throws out. 



NAVIGATING THE AIR — THE WRIGHT BROTHERS 

 UP TO DATF. 



So little has been going on during the winter 

 I have not thought best to keep a record; but 

 just now I give you a glimpse of what is coming 

 soon by the following clippings from that excel- 

 lent magazine. Aeronautics, for March: 



FRANCE. 



The Wrights stillhold the eyes of the world. Despite all that 

 is being done in Europe, it has to be admitted that it is Wilbur 

 Wright alone who is showing the real conquest of the air. Oth- 

 ers are flying, but with a difference. Wright has shown that he 

 can do almost as he pleases in the air. The month, however, 

 has been principally spent, since the first flight at Pan with the 

 new made-in-France Wright engine, on Feb. 3, in teaching his 

 pupils, the Conte de Lambert and Paul Tissandier, and in receiv- 

 ing distinguished visitors. Except on a few days, when snow 

 was falling and the cold was intense, Wilbur has flown every 

 day two or three times. It has been noticed that he flies with 

 ever increasing enjoyment. His obvious relish of his half-hour 

 trips through the air has excited the greatest French enthusiasm. 



ALFONSO LONGS TO FLY. 



The next visitor was of still greater distinction. This was 

 Alfonso XIII., the young king of Spain, who turned up at nine 

 o'clock in the morning on Saturday, Feb. 20, and became wildly 

 enthusiastic. He took off his coat and got into the machine, and 

 afterward was so excitedly delighted that he insisted on remain- 

 ing in his shirtsleeves. He was received by Hart O. Berg and 

 the mayor of Pau, and. after shaking hands very heartily with 

 the two Wrights and Miss Wright, asked every conceivable 

 question, and made Orville tell him all about the accident at 

 Fort Myer. Wilbur made a brilliant display for half an hour, 

 doing every possible maneuver. After his return, and mote 

 questions had been answered, the king asked whether Wilbur 

 would mind making another flight for him, taking one of his stu- 

 dents with him. Count de Lambert was chosen, and, after a 

 twelve-minute flight, the machine was brought back almost to 

 the king's feet. The young monarch admitted that it was the 

 temptation of his life to make a flight, and he could hardly tear 

 himself away. 



MISS WRIGHT'S first PLIGHT. 



Another interesting feature of the month was that Miss Wright 

 made her first flight. This event took place on the 15th, and she 

 Continued on advertising page 2g 



