THE SITTING HEN. 47 



of the box, or the eggs may be rolled into them and get 

 addled. Some prefer to put in first a fresh turf, and this is 

 a very good plan. Always make up a hatching-nest with 

 perfectly fresh and clean materials. 



Should an egg be broken in the nest (and the nest 

 should be examined every two or three days, when the hen 

 is absent, to ascertain), the eggs must be removed, and clean 

 straw substituted, and every sound egg at all soiled by the 

 broken one be washed with a sponge and warm water, 

 gently but quickly drying after with a cloth. The hen, if 

 very dirty, should also have her breast cleansed, and- the 

 whole be replaced immediately, that the eggs may not be 

 chilled. A moderate hatch may still be expected, though 

 the number of chicks is always more or less reduced by 

 an accident of this kind. If, however, the cleansing be 

 neglected for more than a couple of days after a breakage, 

 or less at the latter period of incubation, probably not a 

 single chick will be obtained ; whether from the pores of 

 the shell being stopped by the viscid matter, or from the 

 noxious smell of the putrefying egg, it is not very material 

 to inquire 



Ever> egg should be marked quite round with ink or 

 pencil, so that if any be subsequently laid in the nest they 

 may be at once detected and removed. Hens will sometimes 

 lay several eggs after beginning to sit. 



In winter the hen should also be set on the ground, 

 giving her, however, rather more straw. Whenever the 

 weather be very dry, in April or later, it may be necessary 

 during the last half of the hatching period to sprinkle the 

 eggs freely with tepid water once a day, removing the hen 

 for the purpose at night, and replacing her at once. Of 

 course this is always necessary to success, in dry weather at 

 least, when the hen is set in a box at a distance from the 

 ground, as is the case in large sitting-houses. But we much 



