43 2 THE ESSENTIALS OF AGRICULTURE 



in much the same way, are used and are called brooders. 

 Besides keeping the chicks warm, the brooder must be well 

 ventilated, as was suggested in the construction of houses for 

 mature stock. 



When the chicks are first removed from the incubator, the 

 temperature under the hover (the warmest compartment of the 

 brooder) should be about 100 degrees F. The usual custom is 

 to reduce the temperature at the rate of about five degrees a 



week. This should be 

 governed by judgment 

 rather than by rule. The 

 temperature should be 

 as low as is consistent 

 with keeping the chicks 

 warm enough to prevent 

 them from crowding. 



571. Saving eggs for 

 market. When not 

 cared for properly, eggs 

 will spoil almost as 

 quickly as milk or but- 

 ter. An egg is never 

 again so good for table 



FIG. 223. A brooder ; heating-lamp outside , . . 



purposes as when it is 



perfectly fresh. Therefore, in saving eggs to sell, the effort 

 should be to keep them as nearly as possible in the condition 

 in which they were when newly laid. Eggs lose their freshness 

 by shrinking, incubating, becoming watery, molding, or absorb- 

 ing odors. These defects increase with age, and the egg should 

 therefore be marketed as soon as possible after being laid. 



If a newly laid egg is held before a candle or tester, the con- 

 tents will be found to fill the shell completely. When the egg has 

 become cool, its contents contract, and a small air space known 

 as the air cell may be seen at the large end. As the egg grows 

 older, this space increases in size. If the eggs are kept in warm 

 air or if anything is done that opens the pores, evaporation is 



