106 THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 



their stead. At the end of five years, the whole may 

 be killed, or otherwise disposed of, when you may 

 commence anew, with fresh young fowls. 



In breeding " in-and-in" for the purpose of perpetu- 

 ating any particular variety, the utmost care must be 

 observed in selecting healthy birds, cocks as well as 

 hens, of pure blood on both sides, and if possible, of 

 distantly-related families, which have been kept sepa- 

 rate from all other breeds from their infancy. By 

 this means, the purity of a race may be maintained. 



INCUBATION. 



As in case of other birds, nature designs that every 

 hen shall sit upon her own eggs, and hatch her own 

 progeny ; but the domestic fowl is in an artificial state, 

 and deviations from the laws of nature are, therefore, to 

 be expected. A wild hen will lay no more eggs than 

 she can conveniently cover, and her periods for laying 

 and for incubation will be fixed and regular. On the 

 contrary, domestic hens lay many more eggs than they 

 can cover. Some lay every day, or every other day, 

 for nine months out of the twelve, and never or rarely 

 evince a desire to incubate ; while others manifest this 

 desire, some at one period, and others at another period. 

 Among a flock of hens, these diversities will show them- 

 selves, and advantage may be taken of them with benefit 

 to their owner. 



A hen prompted by instinct to the task of incubation, 

 asks only for eggs suited to her size, be they those of her 

 own production or not, (those even of a duck will be 

 accepted,) a nest, and undisturbed solitude. At this 

 juncture, she utters an instinctive cluck, ruffles her 

 feathers, wanders about, searches obscure corners and 

 recesses, and is evidently ill at ease. She is feverishly 

 hot, impatient, and anxiously restless. In high-fed hens 

 this instinctive desire comes on sooner than in such as 

 are not supplied with food in abundance, and it may be 

 induced by stimulating diet, a little raw liver or fresh 

 meat, chopped small, potatoes mashed warm, with milk 

 and Indian meal. Some farmers recommend a fomenta- 



