Operating an Incubator 213 



the eggs may be put in, although it is well to place 

 them in a warm room for a few hours previous, 

 to prevent so great a change in the temperature of 

 the incubator as would result from the use of cold 

 eggs. It will be of some advantage to the beginner 

 to keep temperature records of the machine by 

 means of both an incubator thermometer and a 

 registering thermometer. These records will some- 

 times be of value in regulating the machine for 

 subsequent hatches. 



Within a comparatively few years some large or 

 mammoth incubators have been constructed that 

 have the capacity of holding thousands of eggs 

 each, at one time. These incubators have been 

 operated successfully for several seasons and may 

 be considered beyond the experimental stage. In 

 these machines heat is furnished by means of hot- 

 water pipes somewhat after the plan of hot-water- 

 pipe brooding systems. 



They are too large for farm use except perhaps 

 that they may be used for what is known as the 

 "community system of hatching/' that is, one 

 machine doing the hatching for many near-by poultry 

 raisers. Close proximity is not, however, wholly 

 essential, as newly hatched chicks may be trans- 

 ported many miles with safety. "The community 

 system of hatching" is becoming quite popular in 

 some places. Many farmers prefer to purchase newly 

 hatched chicks rather than care for an incubator. 



