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the season of the year in which they are observed. In winter 

 they are very small with a comparatively insignificant blood sup- 

 ply ; but in spring, as the breeding season comes on, they enlarge 

 to five or ten times- the weight during winter, the vessels are dis- 

 tended with blood and the height of functional activity is 

 reached." To get fertile eggs in winter, therefore, the house must 

 be warm, or eggs must be imported from the South. 



CHAPTER X. 



INCUBATION ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL. 



As the poultry business is now conducted it is the practice for 

 each poultryman to get out enough chicks in the spring to supply 

 him with layers in the fall. There is no reason, however, why the 

 great law of specialization should not obtain in the poultry busi- 

 ness as in nearly every other, and why in the future we should not 

 have entire plants devoted to the rearing of young stock and 

 other plants devoted wholly to the production of eggs. At pres- 

 ent, however, it is necessary for the poultryman to know how to 

 raise his own chicks, if he wishes to succeed. 



It is a good rule on a poultry farm to have at least two-thirds 

 of the laying stock pullets. Suppose then a man intends to keep 

 300 head of laying stock always on hand, it will be necessary for 

 him to get out at least 600 chicks. Of these one-half (or 300) 

 are likely to be males ; so that at the start he will have but 30$ 

 females. The poultryman must count on some deaths by disease 

 and accident. There will be some weak ones that are better off 

 put out of the way. Then he should watch his flock carefully and 

 cull closely, according to the principles laid down in Chapter 

 VII. The man who gets out 600 chicks in the spring will be 

 lucky if he has 200 standard bred pullets in the fall. 



USE LEG BANDS. 



Pullets when they are put in the laying pens should be marked 

 with leg bands. It is not necessary to use bands with numbers ; 

 plain bands are just as good. It is my personal practice to mark 

 birds hatched in the even years (years that can be divided by two) 



