622 THE COMPLETE GRAZIER. BOOK vu. 



horns, Andalusians, or Houdans, as these breeds can give their 

 undivided attention to laying. For mothers, the chief requirements are a 

 quiet even temperament and size, so as to cover a good number of eggs, 

 but, of course, these birds must be of the sitting breeds. For table 

 purposes, they should be of a quiet contented nature, and similar in 

 appearance to the male bird as described above. We need scarcely 

 add that no bird with the slightest sign of disease or hereditary com- 

 plaint should ever be bred from. Stamina and good condition are, 

 perhaps, of equal importance to anything else in a breeding fowl, and it 

 is courting failure to neglect them. Consanguinity is also to be guarded 

 against, as breeding-in soon debilitates and reduces size in the birds. 



Where there are to be only two or three batches of eggs hatched during 

 the season, there need not be much difficulty in providing for them. A 

 hen can be set in some quiet outhouse, or shed, where incubation will 

 probably go on without any trouble. In this case, if the house or shed 

 can be given up to the hen entirely, it will be best to provide a square 

 box without a bottom, which, standing either upon the earth, if the 

 floor be of that material, or upon sand or earth, if it has an artificial 

 floor, will be the simplest and easiest thing. This box is best if it is 

 made to completely cover the hen, but without a front, so that the hen 

 can leave the nest whenever she wishes so to do. The advantage of a 

 hatching-box like this over a square, open-topped box, is that moisture 

 can be given to the earth below during a very dry season without 

 disturbing or alarming the hen. If it is thought desirable, such a box 

 can be made with a door in front, so that, if necessity should arise, the 

 lien can be shut in her box. 



As we shall have occasion to refer to the hatching-box which we 

 have used so successfully, it will be well to give a description of it. It 

 consists of a box without bottom, and, for ordinary-sized fowls, is made 

 about fifteen inches square, and eighteen or twenty inches high. The 

 material, wood of course, is half or three-quarter inch boards, and it is 

 built with solid back, sides, and top. The upper part of the front 

 forms the door, which is the width of the box, and fifteen inches high. 

 A piece of deal three or five inches in depth, according to the height of 

 the box, forms the lower section of this front ; or, if a twenty-inch high 

 box, the bottom piece may be three inches, and a piece two inches 

 wide fixed at the top of the front. The loose piece is made the door, 

 and is hinged at the bottom, fastening to the top by a button. When 

 this door is open it falls downwards, and thus provides a firm footing 

 for the hen in entering or leaving the nest. Where hens are set by 

 themselves the door may be dispensed with, but as the cost of adding 

 it is so slight we should recommend that it be added. Three ventila- 

 tion holes should be made in each of the sides and in the back, quite close 

 to the top, and half a dozen in the top, where a handle can be fitted ; 

 but of course these are only needed if there is a door attached to the 

 box. 



There are several appliance-makers, including Spratts Patent, to 

 whom we are indebted for the illustration (fig. 177), who sell hatching- 

 boxes, but their boxes have a frame with wire-netting stretched across 



