January 10, 1865. ] 



JO¥KNAL OF HOKTICULTUEE AKD COTTAaE GAEDENEE. 



39 



but what I do advise those persons who have a regard for 

 the health of their fowls and theu' own interest, is to allow 

 Nature her own way by giving a hen her twenty-one days' 

 rest, and during that period a quiet place and nourishing 

 poultacous food, after which time she can be returned to 

 her own home when, in a few days, she will recommence 

 laying. 



When a hen wants to sit she utters a peoxUiar cluck, ruffles 

 her feathers, wanders about, searches for dark corners and 

 recesses, and is evidently iU at ease. She is feverishly hot 

 and resolutely takes to a nest in which there are eggs, 

 whether of her own production or not matters Mttle to her. 

 At this time a hen will allow herself to be separated from her 

 companions and placed in solitary confinement without 

 fretting, provided she has a nest and eggs to sit upon. It is 

 not advisable to allow a hen to hatch in her ordinary home 

 and amidst her companions, who are fond of usurping her 

 nest and laying fresh eggs in it. 

 The incubating compartment should be composed of two 



chambers. See fig. 14. 



A Is the hatching room or nest, near 

 which food and water are suspended to 

 enable the hen to refresh herself without 

 having to leave the nest, which she does 

 reluctantly. 



B Is the dressing-room in which she 

 performs her ablutions in gritty dust. 



c Is a glazed door over which a per- 

 forated zinc plate is fixed for the ventila- 

 tion of the pen. Warm moisture being 

 necessary to the hatching of strong and 

 healthy chickens, as evidenced by wild birds 

 and hens that sometimes unobserved will 

 hatch a brood under a hedge in the fields, 

 I recommend the sitting-nest to be made of earthenware, 

 as m fig. 5, the same as for laying, with this difference, 

 that a fresh-cut piece of turf should be placed on the sand 

 and on it the eggs should be put. The heat of the hen will 



Fig. 14.— Plan of 

 Hatching-room. 



soon generate steam, but whenever the turf becomes too dry 

 some water may be poured on the sand underneath. 



The number of eggs to be placed under a hen must neces- 

 sarily depend on her size. A Dorkuig, Cochin-China, Brahma 

 Pootra, or other large breed, can with every certainty hatch 

 at least fifteen eggs; and as regards the selection of the 

 eggs all I can advise is to choose fresh and good-sized ones. 

 Some persons pretend to be able to tell whether an egg is 

 fecundated, and whether it will produce a male or female 

 bird, but these assertions have not as yet been satisfactorily 

 proved. 



ABTIFICIAL HBKS FOE BEARING CHICKENS. 



Where poultry breeding is carried on as a commercial un- 

 dertaking, and where it is intended to rear the greatest 

 number of chickens with the least number of hens, and this 

 without interfering with their laying, artificial mothers are 

 of the utmost importance. 



The functions of a hen towards her chickens consist of 

 forming a covering to prevent the natural heat of their un- 

 fiedged bodies from cooling ; also, to break into smaU pieces 

 any food that is too large for them ; and lastly, to protect 

 them against danger. Now, my artificial mothers not only 

 do all this, but they perform these duties a great deal better 

 and with less casualties to the chickens. 



Most writers on poultry do not believe in artificial hatch- 

 ing or rearing, yet they might as well doubt growing tropical 

 fruits and plants in England. Chickens neither require 

 artificial heat nor that of their mother ; all that is necessary 

 is to provide them with a suitable covering to their bodies 

 imtil they are fuUy fledged to preserve the natural heat of 

 their bodies, the same as with infants. During cold weather, 

 however, their home must be warmed the same as for full- 

 grown poultry ; then a good ventilation without draught, a 

 dry floor, sun, light, and a small run are likewise needed. 



The portable artificial hen particularly recommended to 

 breeders and amateurs, is shown hjfi^. 15, she performs her 

 duties as a mother towards the chickens entrusted to her 

 care with far greater success then a hen could possibly do. 



FiR. 15.— Portable Artificial Hen. 



A Is a glass-covered frame 3 feet long, IS inches wide, and 

 2 feet high at the apes, and 12 inches at the rise of the glass 

 frame. This forms a dry run in wet and cold weather ; c, is 

 an air-flue across the frame for the necessary ventilation, 

 and formed of perforated zinc. At each end of this fiue a 

 ventilator is fixed by which the admission of air can be 

 regulated according to the temperature of the atmosphere. 

 It will be seen that chickens are not exposed to draught by 

 this arrangement of ventilation; d, is a frume lined with 

 long fleece, under which the chickens wUl roost the same as 

 under the wings of a hen, and will even prefer the artificial 

 mother, as I have ascertained by experience; e, is about 

 1 inch deep of ashes which may be sprinkled with flowers of 

 sulphur. This makes a dry and warm footing and retains 

 the heat but the ashes should be renewed or sifted once 

 a-week ; /, the fioor, should be slightly covered with sand, 

 to be renewed every other day ; gr, is a small door communi- 

 cating with the open run ; h, is a glass frame made to open 

 by means of a slide or by hinges. 



B Is the moveable open run 6 feet long, 15 inches wide, 

 and 12 inches high. It is made of galvanised wire which 

 not only keeps the chickens fr-om danger, but also prevents 

 them from roaming. 



The artificial mother being portable should be taken in- 

 doors every afternoon during the winter months, and in the 

 daytime be placed on grass or dry land. However, for large 

 breeding establishments the arrangements would be dif- 

 ferent, and be explained in the artificial rearing home. 



THE AETIFIOIAL BEABING HOME. 



In poultry-breeding establishments of any magnitude the 

 portable artificial mother could not well be used with ad- 

 vantage, its cost and the labour that would be required for 

 a proper attendance on the chickens, are obstacles which 

 cannot be overlooked without loss to the breeder. In fact, 

 as I have stated before, in any large establishment a judi- 

 cious arrangement for saving labour and for performing the 

 work systematically by subdivision of labour, becomes of 

 the utmost importance in a commercial point of view. Al- 

 though the principles of the portable mother are strictly 

 retained in the arrangement of the rearing home, yet it will 

 be seen that where many thousand chickens have to be 

 attended to in separate compartments containing not more 

 than twelve each, the building, as shown in fig. 16, must 

 necessarily facilitate the work of cleaning, feeding, warming, 

 and general supervision. 



