THE EGGS AND HATCHING APPLIANCES. 25 



keeper, by passing the backs of his hands over the 

 eggs every morning, can easily tell if the hens are 

 doing their duty. If they feel like getting at all cold, 

 that hen is shirking her work ; that particular box 

 should be marked, so that it be examined several 

 times during the day. If the old shirker keeps on 

 " doing this shunt " to use a little racing parlance 

 change her at once before she has ruined your sitting 

 of eggs. 



And now a few words on a most important matter, 

 before coming to the airing and feeding of the hens. 

 Remember that it is most necessary to success that 

 the same hen should go back to the same lot of eggs 

 from which she was taken off. If this is not most 

 carefully seen to, you stand a very good chance of 

 getting a large proportion of your whole batch of eggs 

 irretrievably ruined ; and now I will tell you why. 



That keeper is very lucky indeed who, amongst 

 rows of boxes containing two or three hundred hens 

 all sitting at the same time, is not cursed with one or 

 two shifty brutes, who sit for a bit after they are 

 replaced upon their eggs just long enough in many 

 instances to deceive their attendant, and then calmly 

 stand up, and continue to stand. Of course, all their 

 eggs go wrong, and it may be some time before the 

 delinquent is at last found out. Imagine the con- 

 sequences if this malignant beast gets treated to a 

 new batch of eggs every morning to spoil before 

 night, as is extremely likely to happen if each hen be 



