40 ASSISTANCE IN HATCHING. 



reassume its primitive hardness, from exposure to 

 the air and evaporation. 



Assistance in Hatching 



Must not be attempted prematurely, and thence 

 unnecessarily, but only in the case of the chick 

 been plainly unable to extricate itself: so indeed, 

 an addition may probably be made to the brood, as 

 great numbers are always lost in this way. The chick 

 makes a circular fracture of the big end of the egg, 

 and a section of about one third of the length of the 

 shell being separated, delivers the prisoner, pro- 

 vided there be no obstruction from adhesion of the 

 body to the membrane which lines the shell. Be- 

 tween the body of the chicken and the membrane 

 there remains a viscous fluid, the white of the egg 

 thickened by the intense heat of incubation, until it 

 becomes a real glue. When this happens, the fea- 

 thers stick fast to the shell, and the chick remains 

 confined, and must perish unless released. 



The METHOD of assistance is, to take the egg in 

 hand, and dipping the finger or a piece of linen in 

 warm water, apply it to the fastened parts, until they 

 are loosened, by the gluey substance being dissolved 

 and separated from the feathers; the chick then 

 being returned to the nest, will extricate itself, a 

 mode generally to be observed, since violence used 

 would often be fatal. Nevertheless, breaking the 

 shell may sometimes be necessary, and tearing with 

 the fingers as gently as may be, the membrane from 

 the feathers, which are still to be moistened as above, 

 to facilitate the operation. Small points of scissors 



