122 Atf EGG FARM. 



eggs should not be kept more than three or four days, 

 or ten at the most, before being set. Those laid the 

 same day should be given to one hen, so that the whole 

 brood may hatch simultaneously, for new-laid eggs 

 hatch several hours sooner than those that have been 

 laid a considerable time before being set. 



Artificial hatching and rearing are not economical. 

 Even if incubators hatch as great a proportion of eggs 

 as hens, there is no way of rearing the chickens artifi- 

 cially, and securing ventilation, warmth, cleanliness 

 and room for exercise, without greater outlay in labor 

 and building materials than is necessary when hens are 

 employed, provided the rigors of winter are over. The 

 cost of fixtures for heating, and of fuel, and of suitable 

 contrivances for providing exercise for the young broods, 

 maks the plan entirely impracticable, except m case of 

 high prices for broilers ; and as for blooded fowls, no 

 bird designed for a breeder should ever be reared in a 

 brooder. 



The nests of sitters should be made at bottom of damp 

 earth, packed to a concave shape. Make the sides steep 

 enough so that the eggs will lie close together and so 

 that the hen can roll the outside ones towards the center 

 easily, but do not pack the earth so dishing that eggs 

 will lie two deep in the nest. It is not necessary to 

 place them upon the ground, or to sprinkle the eggs 

 with water, if this rule is followed. It is proper that 

 the eggs should be in some way exposed to moderate 

 dampness during incubation, as otherwise too much of 

 the water in their composition evaporates. An elevated 

 box furnished with nothing but dry litter is not suitable. 

 Cover the earth with staw, bruised until pliable, and 

 broken short. Long straw is apt to become entangled 

 with the feet of the hen, causing breakage of eggs. It 

 should not, however, be cut by a machine, because the 

 sharp ends of the pieces will come in contact with the 



