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Food and fresh water should always be kept near the 

 nest of a sitting jhen, lest she should stay away from the 

 eggs too long, when she comes off for food, or on the 

 other hand, should sit too long at a time for the want of 

 food where it will be handy. A box of earth for her to 

 scratch in should also be near by. 



Brooding. — Some hens will sit so closely that it is 

 necessary to take them off by hand, which may usually 

 be done, in a quiet and cautious manner. We have found 

 no difficulty in handling hens in this manner, and it is a 

 practice which promotes their health and vigor. 



It is impossible to have much success with the hatch- 

 ing of chickens unless some care is taken to have every 

 thing in and about the nest, and its patient occupant, in 

 proper condition. There must be more or less nursing, 

 especially when the chickens begin to come out. 



With suitable treatment chickens may be successfully 

 raised from the first of March until August. Before this 

 period a nest of eggs and a brood of chickens causes too 

 much trouble and expense, and after July cool weather 

 comes too soon for the endurance of a brood raised at that 

 time. 



Sex of Eggs. — Some writers have undertaken to de- 

 termine the sex of eggs, which would certainly be a 

 great gain to the fowl fancier, as he might then fix the 

 proportion of his laying hens before incubation. But all 

 indications are uncertain, and not to be relied upon. M. 

 Genin, in an address before a scientific society in Paris, 

 states, that eggs containing a male germ are of elongat- 

 ed form, with a partially raised or ringed surface around 

 the small end of the shell, while the female germ is 

 smooth and more equally of a size at both ends. As a 



