212 NEW ZEALAND GARDENING. 



By setting several hens at the same time you have the 

 great advantage of being able to put all the chickens, as 

 soon as they are hatched, under one, and of adding new 

 comers to her flock. Eggs sometimes hatch irregularly, and 

 unless some such system were established, the earliest 

 hatched chicken would die of starvation before the whole 

 were brought out. 



In selecting eggs for setting choose the freshest, of 

 moderate size, well-shaped, and having the air vessel dis- 

 tinctly marked, either in the centre of the top of the egg or 

 slightly to the side. 



Sitting hens brought from a distance should be carried in 

 a basket, covered over with a cloth, never with the head 

 downwards, as is too often seen, at the risk of suffocation, 

 and the certain dissipation of their maternal dreams. 



Brahmas and Cochins are excellent sitters, but Dorkings 

 occasionally rebel and refuse to sit, unless in their own way. 

 When they are very reliable, they are excellent mothers. 

 You must be very gentle with them, and try by kindness to 

 induce them to take to the nest selected. 



Pullets are less to be trusted as sitters than more mature 

 hens, and (being rather erratic in their dispositions) are not 

 very careful mothers. Artificial incubators are now exten- 

 sively used, and where there is a command of gas they are 

 easily managed. The natural mother is, however, preferable 

 where only a limited number of fowls are kept, as should 

 some prove faithless, others will be found to take their place. 



Always set your hens in the evening, and not in daylight. 

 They will be more sure to stick to the nest ; and for two or 

 three days at first be careful that they are undisturbed. 



If you can make your nest on the ground, do so ; if not, 

 place a fresh-cut grass sod at the bottom of your box, and 

 sprinkle sulphur or coarse snuff into it to keep off vermin. 



Scatter powdered sulphur through the hen's under- 

 feathers, also during the period of setting. She must be kept 

 free from lice. This is good for her comfort as well as 

 the chickens. 



Remove your hen daily, let her roll in the dust-box near 

 by ; feed and water regularly, see that she goes back before 

 the eggs chill, and cover her sitting-box with coarse bagging 

 if she seems half inclined to give up her work. 



