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find it more convenient to have the doors somewhat longer, so 

 that one may enclose a number of divisions. The top should be 

 hinged at the back, so that it can be lifted up if desired, as shown 

 in the cut; but ordinarily it is shut down. The door in front is 

 covered with chicken wire. Each compartment should be in two 

 divisions, so if a hen wishes to leave her nest temporarily she 

 can do so. 



If possible, enough hens should be set at one time to utilize 

 all the compartments behind a door. The door should be kept 

 latched except in the morning when it is opened, the hens taken 

 off, fed and watered and left to dust. In from 10 to 20 minutes, 

 according to the weather, the hens should be driven back. As 

 the hens are all set at the same time it makes no difference which 

 compartment a hen enters. She will find eggs ready for her. 



THE SITTING HEN. 



Where incubation is carried on by the natural method it is 

 important to have a supply of sitting hens on hand in March, 

 April and May, in order that the chicks may be hatched early. 

 While it is true that no method has yet been discovered to make 

 a hen sit at will, it is also true that the instinct may be encour- 

 aged. As soon as we understand the philosophy of incubation 

 we may go to work to bring about the desired result. In a state 

 of Nature when does the hen sit? In summer. Why in sum- 

 mer? Because the reproductive instinct has been stimulated by 

 the hot weather. Because she has laid her litter out. Because 

 she has become fat and sluggish. It is evident that if we can 

 reproduce these conditions we can hasten incubation. 



Old hens make the best sitters, because they are not so active 

 as young ones. The treatment of hens that are kept for sitters 

 should be radically different from the treatment of hens that are 

 kept for layers. They should be confined more closely and fed 

 differently. Corn should form an important part of their food. 

 As soon as a hen shows symptoms of broodiness she should be 

 encouraged. She should be taken at night and placed in a nest 

 prepared for her in a dark, quiet place. This nest should con- 

 tain china eggs, and should be covered with a burlap bag to make 

 it dark. The next morning the bag should be removed and the 

 hen let out for food and water. If she goes back it is safe to 

 entrust her with real eggs. % 



