Apr. 15. 1912 



batlon, it will never develop a germ. The germ 

 must be deposited, and be in the egg before it Is 

 laid, .and the haiching-niachine will have notliing 

 whatever to do witli fertilization. However, the 

 method of hatching docs have something to do with 

 the vitality: for if an egg is not incubated properly 

 the vitalitv will be impaired, the germ will die, and 

 nothlnr will come from its being incubated. 



It is just exactly the same as a cell in a bee-comb. 

 If the queen does not deposit the germ, it Is infer- 

 tile and will not produce a bee. We are sure you 

 can see the point we are trying to make, and will 

 understand more fully the principle of incubation 

 from tills statement. 



We personally never expect to see the time when 

 an incubator will be the equal of the old hen when 

 she attends to tlie hatching business. If one were 

 to take the results from natural incubation and ar- 

 tificial incubation year after year, the incubator 

 would outclass the hens, because there is a certain 

 per cent of them that are practically worthless as 

 sitters. There is the same difference In hens that 

 there is in people and incubators. 



Mr. Farrington gave you some good information 

 relative to operating your machine; but one thing 

 that he overlooked was tliat the thermometer 

 should have been changed as to its location. The 

 position of the thermometer in the incubator is cor- 

 rect for the hatching of hen eggs; but it you are to 

 incubate duck or goose eggs it is necessary that you 

 lift your thermometer just a trifle. For duck eggs 

 the thermometer should be about }i of an inch 

 higher, and for goose eggs about fs. The germ in 

 the egg floats to the highest point; and if you are 

 to have the thermometer too low you will be run- 

 ning the machine at too high a temperature. The 

 consequence is that a certain amount of the eggs 

 will not hatch, due to excessive heat. 



Instead of operating the machine with the venti- 

 lators wide open, as has been suggested, you should 

 close the ventilators down to about half open, and 

 continue this way until they begin to pip. Then 

 increase the heat about one degree, close the ven- 

 tilators tight, and leave the saine in this position 

 until the ducklings have started to hatch out, when 

 you can open the ventilators about half way. 



The eggs, in your part of the country, should be 

 moistened: and one of the best methods Is to take a 

 clean whisk broom and sprinkle the eggs every 

 morning after they have been aired and cooled; 

 and if in a temperature of 60 to 70. they should be 

 aired and cooled for from five to eight minutes 

 twice a day. If one is at all observing he will notice 

 that, when the old mother duck sits on the eggs 

 and hatches them the natural way, she will leave 

 the nest at certain intervals, take a swim on the 

 pond, come back with her feathers real wet, and 

 hover over the eggs. Besides, the nest is usually 

 built where it is damp and there is lots of moisture. 

 This also assists in supplying a great amount of hu- 

 midity. 



We are acquainted with a poultryman who has 

 made a wonderful success in hatching duck and 

 goose eggs in incubators, and about the 20th and 

 26th day he dips each one of the eggs in water that 

 is heated to a temperature of 95 to 100 degrees, al- 

 lows them to remain a few seconds, when they are 

 removed and placed in the egg-tray after being 

 wiped or dried off. 



We have endeavored to make our statements 

 clear, and trust that you will understand the direc- 

 tions we have given you. If we can serve you any 

 further, do not hesitate to write us, for we are 

 deeply interested in your particular case, and 

 nothing would please us more than to render you 

 such assistance as would enable you to make an 

 absolute success in hatching your ducks. 

 Buffalo. N. Y., March 23. W. C. Ellkrin. 



Of course we all agree to the above; i. e., 

 that no hen or incubator can do any thing 

 with an egg that has not the fertile germ, 

 and I am very glad to see the writer " take 

 oil his hat" to the sitting hen and give her 

 such a high compliment. Perhaps I should 

 not have used the word "infertile" in my 

 heading in that March 1st journal. Since 

 that article came otit I have started the in- 

 cubator again, and again got about a 50-per- 

 cent hatch. At about the same time I gave 

 a Bantam hen eleven duck eggs. Of course 



257 



she could not well cover them all; but it 

 was done purposely for a test. All started 

 germs promptly but one; but on the 29th 

 day she came olT with fen nice ducks. I 

 suppose the delay was because ihe could not 

 keep all of the eggs all of the time warm 

 enough. With my exactly accurate incu- 

 bator I fear I had them too warm, especial- 

 ly at the start, for they were pipped, some of 

 them, on the 24th day, and were all out, ex- 

 cept those "dead in the shell," on the 27th. 

 She aired her eggs a long time, especially on 

 hot days (and I tried to imitate her) ; and 

 while the eggs were pipped and the duck- 

 lings poking their heads out of the shells 

 she took a long promenade, as unconcerned 

 as could be. Probably she had never read 

 the careful instructions about "how to run 

 an incubator" about hatching time. Now 

 for my question once more: Have we any 

 incubator that will start the germ "in the 

 egg " in as many eggs (or as large a percent- 

 age of the eggs) as does the sitting hen? 



HOW TO MAKE THE CHICKENS " IN THE 

 BACK yard" NOT ONLY SAVE THE BUT- 

 TER (SEE PAGE 147, MARCH 1), BUT THE 

 HIGH-PRICED HAM FOR SANDWICHES. 



The above is a "long-winded" heading, 

 I admit; but I couldn't well make it shorter. 

 Well, to get down to business, read the fol- 

 lowing from one of our old-time friends: 



Dear Uncle ^rnos.— Being a constant reader of 

 Gleanings, and Interested in every thing contain- 

 ed therein (covers and all) . and knowing that you 

 as well as myself are interested in ferreting frauds. 

 I am enclosing herewith a letter received to-day In 

 answer to a letter of inquiry written by myself in 

 reply to their advertisement. 



Union Center, Wis., March 12. Elias Fox. 



And here is the letter our good friend en- 

 closes: 



Mr, Elias i^oz.— Guess you misunderstood our 

 ad. Vi'e got tired of selling our chickens in the 

 open market at ten and twelve cents per pound, 

 and a year ago last fall we figured out a plan that 

 we have used ever since, and are still using, that 

 brings us tweniy-flce cents per pound, live tveight, 

 for every chicken, old or young, that we market, 

 and we market chickens twice a week. 



'\\'e expect your more or less skeptical opinion; 

 bvit if you will be shown we will prove to you that 

 our claim Is good and that we make good. 



We guarantee to refund yovir money if you're not 

 satisfied. To get our advertisements In the maga- 

 zines, and abide by the law. we must be prepared 

 to back up our statement.s, and also be able to show 

 that you can do the same as we are doing, or return 

 your money to you. If you buy oar method, and 

 do not think it is worth a dollar of any chicken- 

 raiser's money, write us for your money and we 

 will return it to you. 



AVhat we want Is to have you try our method. 

 There are so many schemes out to grab off the dol- 

 lars that we have made the following arrangement 

 with our bank for the benefit of those who are skep- 

 tical about sending their money direct to us. 



You can send the price of our method, .*1.00, to 

 The Citizens Trust Company, of this city, reciuest- 

 ing them to hold it for you thirty days. .Notify us 

 at the same time, and we will send you the method 

 and you can try it. If you can not get twenty-five 

 cents per pound, live weight, for old or young 

 chickens, or the method is not entirely satisfactory, 

 ask The Trust Company to return your money and 

 they will do .so. We enclose a blank that you can 

 use for convenience. This protects you absolutely. 

 We are doing this on the theory that the majority 

 of people will not ask for their money back if they 

 get value received. Chas. W. Fester, .Man. 



Elkhart, Ind., March 9. 



