POULTRY. 217 



end of the shell, while the female germ is smooth and more 

 equally of a size at both ends. As a matter of curiosity, it is 

 well enough to test this rule by experiments. 



HATCHING. 



The chickens should hatch in due course on the twenty-first 

 day, and the nest should receive a good deal of attention about 

 that time. The state of the weather often makes some differ- 

 ence in the time when the chicks break out of the shell. The 

 duratipn of the process is also variable. Some chicks w^ill dis- 

 encumber themselves of the shell in one hour, and others in 

 two or three hours ; but it is generally a pretty good half-day's 

 work. 



Ears accustomed to this operation readily detect the approach- 

 ing birth of the chicken by his " gently tapping, tapping at the 

 door" of his cell to break the first little hole. Sometimes the 

 shell is too tough and the occupant needs to be helped out. If 

 the chick stops its efforts to get out for five or six hours it is 

 well to liberate it by breaking the shell. This must be done 

 very carefully, first by making a small circular fracture, such 

 as the chick makes, and then replacing the egg under the hen. 

 If this does not answer, and the chick adheres to the shell 

 within, the shell must be delicately broken, and, by the use 

 of a linen rag, wet in warm water, the chicken must be disen- 

 gaged, or unglued, from the pieces of shell to which its feathers 

 are sticking, by dissolving the glutinous substance which con- 

 fines them. ' 



THE CHICKENS. 



We have found it best, with some hens, to remove the 

 chickens as soon as they are hatched and place them in wool 

 in a warm place, rather than to risk their being crushed by 

 the hen. They need no food for several hours, say twenty- 

 four. It is very necessary to keep them dry and warm, and 

 they may be buried in wool for this purpose. It is well also 

 to keep the hen away from the earth for several days, until 

 the chickens gain strength enough to keep from under her 

 feet when she moves or scratches. They should be provided 

 with fresh water in pans so arranged that they shall not get 

 wet ; nor should they be exposed to the rain, nor permitted to 



wander in wet grass ; for it must be remembered that nearly all 



* 



28 



