204 Farm Poultry 



edly will be best in the end if the art of artificial 

 incubation is thoroughly learned. The natural 

 processes of incubation are too slow to meet the 

 demands of the modern poultry-keeper who is 

 extensively engaged in the business. When one 

 undertakes to produce eggs exclusively and desires 

 as many as possible in the winter, pullets will, 

 of course, be largely kept for this purpose, and these 

 cannot be depended on for natural incubation. 

 Under these conditions, it will be advisable to resort 

 to the use t)f incubators and brooders, by means 

 of which the flock can be maintained. It would 

 be quite impossible for the poultrymen of modern 

 times to maintain large flocks of young birds for 

 egg production and rear chickens by the natural 

 method. 



ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 



The art of hatching eggs by means of artificial 

 heat has been known for a long time. Early travelers 

 in Egypt gave accounts of ovens that were used 

 for hatching the eggs of ducks, geese, and chickens. 

 Heat was supplied by fermenting manure. Remains 

 of these ovens are said to have been seen in com- 

 paratively recent times. It is said that the French 

 became interested in artificial incubation as early as 

 the fifteenth century, but not until the latter part of 

 the eighteenth century was use made of hot water as 

 a means of conveying heat for artificial incubation. 



