to the oven for four more days, their positions 

 being changed as before. At the expiration of the 

 four days they are removed to another oven, over 

 which, however, there are no fires. Here they lie 

 for five days in one heap, the aperture (<?,/) and 

 the door (g} being closed with tow to exclude the 

 air ; after which they are placed separately about 

 one or two inches apart, over the whole surface of 

 the mats, which are sprinkled with a little bran. 

 They are at this time continually turned and 

 shifted from one part of the mats to another, dur- 

 ing six or seven days, all air being carefully ex- 

 cluded, and are constantly examined by one of the 

 rearers, who applies each singly to his upper eye- 

 lid. Those which are cold prove the chicken to 

 be dead, but warmth greater than the human skin 

 is the favorable sign of their success. 



" At length the chicken, breaking its egg, gradu- 

 ally comes forth ; and it is not a little curious to 

 see some half exposed and half covered by the 

 shell ; while they chirp in their confinement, 

 which they show the greatest eagerness to quit. 



"The total number of days is generally twenty- 

 one, but some eggs with a thin shell remain only 

 eighteen. The average of those that succeed is 

 two- thirds, which are returned by the rearers to 

 the proprietors, who restore to the peasants one- 

 half of the chickens ; the other being kept as pay- 

 ment for their expenses. 



" The size of the building depends, of course, on 

 the means or speculation of the proprietors ; but 

 the general plan is usually the same ; being a series 

 ii 



