l8o MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



I9II. 



In view of these considerations it was decided in the hatch- 

 ing season of 1909 to begin some experiments looking toward 

 an improvement in the brooders used for rearing the chickens 

 at this Station. At first some different types of commercial 

 brooders were tested. The results, however, were not satis- 

 factory. Before the hatching season of 1910 it was decided to 



Fig. 87. Floor plan of brooder. For further explanation see text. 



try on an experimental scale a brooder devised to overcome 

 the objections mentioned above to brooders of the Peep-o'-Day 

 type. Accordingly 6 brooders were constructed embodying 

 the essential features of that to be described below, and 

 were put in use during the hatching season of 1910. Dur- 



