POULTRY. 



and several days frequently elapse 

 before they become familiarized with 

 a stranger. The best way is to bring 

 in the new cock in tiie summer, ei- 

 ther as a chick, or late in the year in 

 tlie moulting season, when he will 

 not take too much notice of the hens. 

 As a general rule, it would be well to 

 have one a yearling, and the other a 

 year older. In the third year, tiie 

 cock, who then becomes lazy and ex- 

 cessively jealous, should be killed. 



'• In order to have the earliest chick- 

 ens, hens should be induced to sit in 

 October, w-hich they may do if they 

 have moulted early. By attention 

 in this particular, chickens can be 

 brought to the market at Christmas ; 

 but the object should be, in general, 

 to set the eggs as soon as possible : 

 after Christmas, in order to have 

 chickens with the forced asparagus , 

 in March. 



" In selecting eggs for hatching, 

 care should be taken that they are not, 

 at the utmost, more than a month old, ■ 

 but their condition fur hatching will 

 greatly depend upon the temperature 

 of the weather: vitahty continues 

 longest when the air is cool. 



" It has been asserted that the fu- i 

 ture sex of the bird is indicated by ; 

 the shape of the egg, the round pro- 

 ducing the female, and the oblong the , 

 male. But this is contradicted, and, ' 

 we believe, with sufficient reason, 

 and it is impossible not only lo foretell 

 the sex, but even to ascertain wheth- 

 er the egg be fecundated. This, how- 

 ever, is certain, that if the air-bag (at 

 the obtuse end), which has been mis- 

 taken for the germ, and the purpose 

 of which is to oxygenate the blood of 

 the chick, be perforated even in the | 

 least conceivable degree, the genera- , 

 ting power is lost altogether. Those 

 eggs only which have been fecunda- ; 

 ted by the male are possessed of the 

 vital principle. The number of eggs 

 for a hen should not exceed sixteen, 

 as she cannot impart the necessary 

 warmth to more. It is by no means ! 

 uncommon with experienced breed- 

 ers to place two hens on the same ! 

 day on their respective eggs, and then 

 on the twenty-first day, when the ) 



broods are out, to give the maternal 

 charge of both to one of the hens, re- 

 moving the other to another set of 

 eggs, which, if she be a steady settee, 

 she will iiatch as in the first instance. 

 This, however, must be deemed acru- 

 eity, though some hens would in- 

 stinctively continue to sit until death. 

 They would, iiowever. become so at- 

 tenuated by continued sitting, as to 

 lose the power of communicating to 

 the eggs the necessary degree of 

 warmth. The practice of the Surrey 

 breeders is to feed the hen on oats 

 while sitting, as less stimulating than 

 barley, which they give to the laying 

 hens on account of this verj- quality. 



" Some fanciers use artificial moth- 

 ers, which effect the purpose of im- 

 parting the necessary heat to the 

 young chicks after birth, when there 

 is no natural mother nor a trained 

 capon to brood them. These artifi- 

 cial mothers — as used by Mr. Mou- 

 bray, and described by him — are box- 

 es lined throughout with wool. He 

 recommends that a curtain of flannel 

 should be suspended over the open- 

 ing of the box for the exclusion of 

 cold air. 



" Mr. Young states that ' five broods 

 may at once be cherished under an 

 artificial mother. This mother may 

 be framed of a board ten inches broad 

 and fifteen inches long, resting on two 

 legs in front, two inches in height, 

 and on two props behind, two inches 

 also in height. The board must be 

 perforated with many small gimlet- 

 holes, for the escape of the heated 

 air. and lined w'ith lamb's skin dressed 

 with the wool on, and the woolly side 

 is to come in contact with the chick- 

 ens. Over three of these mothers a 

 wicker basket is to be placed for the 

 protection of the chickens, four feet 

 long, two feet broad, and fourteen 

 inches high, with a lid open, a wooden 

 sliding bottom to draw out for clean- 

 ing, and a long narrow trough along 

 the front, resting on two very low 

 stools, for holding their food. Perches 

 are to be fi.xcd in the basket for the 

 more advanced to roost on. A flannel 

 curtain is to be placed in front, and at 

 both ends of tlie mothers, for the 



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