44 THE PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPER. 



When the eggs are from home stock, their quality 

 should be above suspicion. In order to ensure this, every 

 egg before storing skauld have legibly written upon it in 

 pencil the date on which it was laid. Eggs intended for 

 sitting are best kept in bran, the large end downward, or 

 else upon their sides and gently turned every day. They 

 should never be exposed to concussion. Another very 

 good plan is to have a large board pierced with a number 

 of round holes in regular rows to receive the eggs. 



Hundreds of years ago it was thought that the sex of 

 eggs could be distinguished by the shape the cocks being 

 produced from those of elongated shape, and hens from the 

 short or round. Others have pretended to discern the 

 future sex from the position of the air-bubble at the large 

 end. These and every other nostrum have, hundreds of 

 times, been proved to be erroneous. There is not a 

 breeder of prize poultry in England who would not gladly 

 give twenty pounds for the coveted knowledge, and thence- 

 forth breed no more cockerels than he really wanted ; but 

 the secret has never been discovered yet, and it is also 

 impossible to tell, before the egg has been sat upon for a 

 short time, whether it has been fecundated. 



We have, in a previous chapter, already mentioned that 

 the sitting hens ought to have a separate shed and run 

 provided for them, in order that the other hens may not 

 occupy their nests during absence, or they themselves go 

 back to the wrong ones, as they will often do if allowed to 

 sit in the fowl-house. An extensive run is neither necessary 

 nor desirable, as it only entices the birds to wander, 

 whereas in a limited space they will go back to their nests 

 as soon as their wants are satisfied. A shed five feet square, 

 with a run the same width for ten feet out in front, is quite 

 sufficient for a hen. 



It is best to take each hen off at a regular time every 



