POULTRY RAISING CHICKENS 299 



while a fertile egg will show a small dark spot, a spider like formation having a 

 center with blood veins or ligaments leading outward. This formation will float 

 as the egg is turned. The infertile eggs may be used for cooking purposes. 



Home-made Testers. Take a large shoe box or any box large enough to 

 go over a lamp. Cut a hole a little larger than a quarter in the bottom of the 

 box so that when the box is placed over the lamp, the hole comes opposite the 

 blaze. Cut a hole the size of a dollar in the top of the box to allow the heat to 

 escape. If possible get the colored egg charts from the Poultry Division, Bureau 

 of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, and study them in testing your eggs. 



Magnifying Tester. To make this tester only the following articles are 

 necessary: Ordinary cardboard, oat meal box, round paper box about the size 

 of a tomato can ; a few brass clinch rivets ; and a small handled magnifying or 

 "reading" glass from three to five inches in diameter. Make as follows : Cut a 

 slot down one side from the top of the box to within about two and one-quarter 

 inches of the bottom. The slot should be just wide enough to admit the handle 

 of the reading glass. Next cut a length from the smaller box open at both ends 

 two and one-quarter inches long and slip it inside the larger box, (box with 

 slot). Then put in the glass and another section of smaller box, open at each 

 end. Make this section solid with the rivets put through the sides of the outside 

 box. Make a small, smooth edged hole in the bottom of the box and blacken 

 the inside. This makes the tester complete and a revelation. 



Natural Incubation. If setting hens are given proper care and are 

 handled with a little system, they will produce a large number of chickens at a 

 comparatively small expense. They should be given comfortable and convenient 

 quarters in which to set. Nest boxes should be constructed so that they may be 

 opened or closed when necessary. A good way to prepare a nest is to cut some 

 sod three inches thick ; put this in the bottom of the nest box and cover it with 

 a good thickness of straw or sweet hay. Put the nest in a quiet place where the 

 hen will not be disturbed. 



Insect Powder. It is advisable to sprinkle both hen and nest with insect 

 powder before setting her. This should be repeated once a week throughout 

 the setting period. To apply the powder, hold the hen by the feet, head down, 

 working the powder well into the feathers. Give special attention to regions 

 around the vent and under the wings. 



Testing Hen. A hen should be tested before being set. To do this put 

 her in a nest she cannot get off. Put a china egg or two under her. On the 

 second day, toward evening, go quietly in where she is setting, leave some water 

 and feed, open the front of the nest and let her come off when ready. If she 

 returns to the nest after feeding, it is safe to put the eggs under her. The 

 hens are less likely to become restless if the nests are darkened a little. 



Care of Setting Hen. If several hens are setting at the same time, care 

 should be taken to see that they come off the nest just once a day to receive feed 

 and water. If some do not care to come off they should be taken off and all 

 of them should be put back on before the eggs have time to chill say in 20 

 minutes in ordinary weather. If a large number are setting in a room, it is 



