152 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 



[CUAP. I. 



203. Eggs— How to Produce (hem in Winter. — Pork scraps or greaves, fed 

 in moderate quantity, are found to have a marvelous cli'ect in the produc- 

 tion of winter eggs. Give hens also sand, and gravel, and lime, and see 

 that tliey have water. Egg-shells should never be fed whole, hut they may 

 be mashed up fine and mixed with feed to good advantage. Some hens 

 are much more productive of eggs than others. Eighty hens, belonging to 

 Cajjt. Thos. A. Norton, of Yarmouth, Mass., have laid during one year C37 

 dozen eggs. At the average i^rice of eggs, that would be about §1 25 for 

 each hen. 



204. How to Delect the Sex in Domestic Fowls' EggSi — A person who has 

 paid attention to the subject declares that he can tell the sex of eggs in the 

 following manner. lie says: 



"I began examining eggs, classing them according to the difference I 

 found in the formation of each, marking each class, and putting them under 

 hens as soon as opportunity offered ; when, in less than twelve months, I 

 was fully convinced that I had discovered cither a method or tJie method 

 of foretelling the sex in the c^^, which was proved by ocular demonstration 

 in the chickens produced. 



" At the large end of the egg there is a circular space or cavity containing 

 air, which country folks call the ' crown' of the Qgg ; its jn-oper name I know 

 not. "When you examine the egg, hold it, the large end uppermost, before 

 a candle or gaslight, and in looking through it you will observe a dark cir- 

 cular mark, something similar to the moon when partially eclipsed. This 

 dark circular mark is the space filled with air or ' tlie crown' of the egg, and 

 when in the center it indicates that the egg will produce a male. 



" My method of examining the egg is as follows : I make xise of the thumb 

 and forefinger of my left hand as two points, placing the small end of the 

 egg on my thumb, my torefinger covering the large end of it, and as near 

 the center of the end as possible. I then place the egg in this position 

 steadily before a candle and gently turn it around ; if the crown be in the 

 center it will be scarcely visible, the forefinger nearly covering it. On the 

 contrary, if the crown be on the side you will only see it on one side of the 

 egg as you turn it around." There is a little contrivance, called the ooni- 

 scope, to detect bad eggs. The egg is placed in a hole of a box, and the 

 light reflects on a mirror inside and tells unerringly the true condition of 

 the egg. A little practice enables any one to discover whether eggs are 

 fresh or not. 



205. Vitality of Eggs Affected by Transportation. — It has been stated upon 

 • good authority that railroad transportation injures the vitality of eggs. That 



pack them as you will, if they are carried any considerable distance, say 100 

 miles, the continued shaking w\\\ shake the life out of them. Ti'aveling on 

 the Harlem Koad one day, we met an acquaintance carefully carrying a 

 small basket in his hands. We remarked that he handled his basket as 

 carefully as though he was carrying eggs. "And so I am," he replied ; " I am 

 taking them about a hundred miles to a friend, and will insure every one to 



