133 



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 difference in the time 

 when the chicks break out of the shell. The duration 

 of the process is also variable. Some chicks will disen- 

 cumber 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 

 approaching birth of the chicken l3y his " gently tap- 

 ping, tapping at the door" of his cell, to break the first 

 little hole. Sometimes the shell is too tough and the oc- 

 cupant needs to be helped out. If the chick stops its 

 efforts to get out for five or six hours, it is w^ell to libe- 

 rate 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 disengaged, or unglued, from the pieces 

 of shell to which its feathers are sticking, by dissolving 

 the glutinous substance which confines them. 



The Chickens. — We have found it best, with some 

 hens, to remove the chickens as soon as they are hatch- 

 ed, 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 neces- 

 sary to keep them dry and warm, and they may be buried 

 in wool for this purpose. It is well also to keep the hen 



