ARTIFICIAL BROODERS. 77 



mother in rather a sloping position, like a roof, and along 

 the lower edge ran a flue, shown at E, the flue being 

 surrounded by water, and heated by a small lamp. Under 

 the slightly sloping tank was made to slide from the front a 

 framework of wood, roofed with canvas, on which were sewn 

 flannel strips, K, as already described. With this apparatus 

 was used a small temporary mother, consisting of the canvas 

 top and flannel strips only, placed in one end of a tray or 

 small box floored with dry earth or ashes, and covered by an 



Fig. 21. Mrs. Cheshire's Artificial Mother. 



india-rubber bag filled with warm water, and wrapped in 

 flannel. In this the newly-hatched chickens were placed 

 the first day, to familiarise them with the habit of running 

 in and out from under the flannel ; and on first placing 

 them in the larger mother, a small park of wirework was 

 fixed in front to keep them from wandering too far until 

 they had got to know their way about. Beyond that, very 

 little trouble was necessary. 



We reared all our chickens with this apparatus one 

 season, with no failure or difficulty ; and several breeders of 

 our acquaintance were fully as successful. But during a 

 second season, when pressure of work made it necessary to 

 turn over all management to a servant, there was consider- 

 able mortality, and very few chickens really did well. This 

 experience also we found to be extensively shared by others. 

 We gradually traced most of these comparative failures 

 chiefly to two causes : the first being sheer neglect to attend 



