METHODS OF HATCHING CHICKENS 301 



ly above the flashlight. The latter two methods obviate 

 touching the eggs with hands. An infertile egg will look 

 clear, just like a fresh egg, only it has a little larger air 

 cell. A fertile egg will show dark. 



Artificial Incubation. The hatching and rearing of 

 chicks by artificial means has been practiced by Egyptians 

 and Chinese for centuries. The ancient methods were 

 crude, and their success depended upon skill obtained by 

 long years of practice. The secret was handed down from 



THE SAME CHICKS LOADED ONTO THE WAGON OF THE MAN WHO 

 CONTRACTS TO RAISE THEM 



father to son. No thermometer was used, the temperature 

 being judged by the "feel" of the operator. Large hatch- 

 ing ' * ovens ' ' were used. The eggs were purchased, and the 

 chicks sold for about $1 a hundred. The business of hatch- 

 ing was confined to a few hatcheries or a few families who 

 appeared to have a monopoly of the business. The same 

 methods are followed to-day in Egypt, China and other 

 countries. 



In Europe and America artificial incubation is of com- 

 paratively recent origin. So far as a practical application 

 is concerned its history goes back less than 50 years. In- 

 cubators had been used before. The first of which there is 



