566 DOMESTIC ANIMALS, DAIRYING, ETC. 



egg shells. Any good poultry journal will give valuable hints upon 

 the subject of raising chickens in brooders. 



Summary. Study your incubator; acquaint yourself with all 

 its parts ; read the manufacturers' directions for setting it up ; set it 

 up carefully and according to instructions ; never try to run an incu- 

 bator in a drafty place, nor near a stove, nor where the sun shines 

 upon it; set fertile eggs only; waste no effort upon those that are 

 doubtful ; learn how to trim and clean a lamp ; keep the lamps full 

 and the wick and tube clean; avoid smoke; see that the eggs are 

 clean and dry before setting them ; balance all eggs, large end up, 

 a few hours before placing them in the tray; do not overfill the 

 tray ; turn every egg the third day ; cool the eggs every morning ; be 

 sure your hands are clean when handling eggs ; test all eggs by the 

 seventh day; test again by the eleventh day; test again by the fif- 

 teenth day ; if the air space is too large, supply moisture ; if too small, 

 put a saucer of dry lime in the room and run without moisture a day 

 or two ; do not expect to learn all about the air cell the first hatch 

 you will learn that later; do not disturb the eggs after the evening 

 of the 'eighteenth day; have a regular hour for incubator work; do 

 not tinker too much with the regulator; get the adjustment right 

 and keep it so; heat your machine and make your adjustment before 

 placing the eggs in the egg chamber. 



General Remarks. The average farmer, his wife, his son, or his 

 daughter, should not expect to learn all about the management of 

 an incubator from the perusal of written pages. Experience comes 

 from the work itself. This work is easy, interesting, and fascinating. 

 It occupies the mind and leads to investigation. More than that, it 

 leads to success and profit. But great results can not be expected 

 in the beginning. The poultry business is a trade and must be 

 learned. Many a person is idle today and looking for some sphere 

 of usefulness who could learn how to operate an incubator to both 

 mental and financial advantage. But the work, slight as it is, must 

 be done properly and at the right time. The poultry business is hon- 

 orable and profitable, but it requires study and experience. We serve 

 a long and faithful apprenticeship to learn other more 'laborious and 

 less remunerative trades, when the same amount of application would 

 in less time make us experts with an incubator and give us a trade 

 in a line not affected by strikes or lockouts, or liable to be over- 

 crowded. (Agr. Dep. F. B. 236.) 



(Publications quoted from and consulted on incubation: Mich. 

 B. 245; Agr. Dep. F. B. 236; Kansas B. 150; West Va. B. 98; Minn. 

 B. 91; Agr. Dep. F. B. 357; Ark. B. 99; Pa. B. 87: Utah B. 92, 102; 

 S. C. B. 81; Ont. Agr. Cal. B. 163.) 



BROODING. 



Natural Brooding. If the chicks are to be raised with hens a 

 supply of small coops will be needed. The common inverted V- 

 shaped coop is quite satisfactory in warm weather, or even in cold 

 weather, if it is placed in a sheltered location, or in a shed. The 

 sides forming the roof of this coop should be two feet in length at the 

 peak and three feet long from the peak to the ground on the slope 



