grows weaker as the egg ages, and the food elements which are to 

 nourish the germ become stale and unfit for food. 



The yolk of the egg is enclosed in the body of the developing chick 

 and is connected with its digestive system by a small duct which allows 

 the yolk to be absorbed into the alimentary canal, and thus the chick 

 is nourished for the first three days after leaving the shell. If this yolk 

 is over-heated in incubation it is hardened so that it cannot be assim- 

 ilated and the chick dies in from six to ten days from the poison of this 

 decaying yolk. If the egg is kept too long before incubation the yolk 

 decomposes and the chick is doomed to an early death from poison. 

 Chicks from immature stock have not the vitality to digest even a good 

 yolk, much less the chick feeds. 



Place the eggs on the tray with the small end down, leaning them 

 so that the large end is the higher, keeping them in this position during 

 the incubation period. 



After the machine is warmed up and regulated to 102 degrees or 

 thereabouts, place the eggs in and do not turn for three days. Then 

 they can be turned twice each day, being careful to get them into the 

 machine quickly up to the seventh day. After the first week let them 

 air a little at first and increase the time of airing up to the time they 

 begin to pip. At no time let them cool below 80 degrees, and only once 

 each day. I have had excellent hatches turning the eggs once per day, 

 but I think results warrant turning twice per day. The eggs should be 

 tested on the seventh day and all the infertile ones taken out. Some 

 test on the fourth or fifth day, but it is hard on the tender germ to 

 remain out of the machine. 



The temperature should be kept between 102 and 103 degrees, and 

 the steadier the better the hatch and stronger the chicks. Good eggs 

 can very easily be spoiled by irregular temperatures. It requires 

 exactness to incubate successfully. No careless person will ever 

 succeed in incubation. The incubator should be placed in a basement 

 or cellar where the outside temperature is very even. Never under any 

 circumstances allow the temperature to go above 103 degrees, for every 

 time it does the vitality of the chicks is weakened. One of the greatest 

 faults with our modern machines is that they are slow in bringing the 

 temperature back to 103 degrees after eggs have been aired. The 

 temperature should arise quickly to 103 degrees after eggs are placed 

 in the machines. 



It cannot be impressed too strongly upon the amateur that an even, 

 steady temperature brings best results. I do not believe in cooling the 

 eggs till germ is chilled, for this daily chilling of the germ is bound 

 to weaken it. A slight airing may be beneficial and the cooling of the 

 shell and the heating again may cause a contraction and relaxation of 

 the fibrous tissue of the shell until the chick is more easily able to 

 break through, because the shell becomes more brittle by this action. 

 I know that it has been advocated that plenty of cooling enables the 

 chick to hatch easier, but then if the after life of the chick is harmed by 

 too much cooling it would be better that it never came out. There is 

 still considerable difference of opinion in cooling eggs, some saying 

 that extra cooling enables chicks to hatch easier and also makes them 

 sturdy, but when we stop to consider that in no other instance is the 

 foetal life of the germ allowed to vary in temperature during develop- 

 so 



