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CHAPTER V. 



EGGS I THEIR PRESERVATION FOR INCUBATION. 



BEFORE quoting Mr. Dixon in continuation of this subject, 

 I will briefly mention the method of preservation I have used 

 for some time with great success. I put the Eggs on their 

 points in a box in a cool dry place; the temperature about 

 60 or 65. I cover the bottom of the box with wheat branj 

 then put in a layer of Eggs, and cover them with bran also, 

 and so on while filling the box. The Eggs are kept dry, coolj 

 and, being covered, the evaporation of their contents is ef- 

 fectually prevented; at the end of six weeks, or even two 

 months, the Eggs are as full as when they were laid, and 

 almost as certain to hatch out. 



"Eggs for hatching," says Mr. Dixon, should be as fresh 

 as possible; if laid the very same day, so much the better. 

 This is not always possible when a particular stock is required 

 to be increased; but if a numerous and healthy brood is all 

 that is wanted, the most recent Eggs should be selected. 

 Some books tell us that Eggs to be hatched should not be 

 more than a fortnight, others say not more than a month old. 

 It is difficult to fix the exact term during which the vitality 

 of an Egg remains unextinguished; it undoubtedly varies 

 from the very first according to the vigour of the parents of 

 the inclosed germ, and fades away gradually till the final 

 moment of non-existence. But long before that moment, the 



