82 POULTRY BREEDING 
BROODERS.—BEST SIZES.—The brooders on the 
market are usually rated as 50-chick size, 100-chick size 
and so on up to as large as 300-chick size. The capacity 
of brooders is almost universally overrated by the mak- 
ers. Asa rule the 100-chick size is about the size that 
should be used for brooding 50 chicks, and this is as 
many as should be put into the ordinary brooder, or any 
brooder unless they are to be given the most careful 
supervision. At the Cornell Experiment Station we have 
seen a large number of brooders in operation which were 
used to raise 200 chicks each. These brooders were 
heated with gasoline and seemed to be giving satisfac- 
tion; in fact, Prof. J. E. Rice, the designer, claims that 
they gave perfect satisfaction. Notwithstanding, we 
would hesitate to recommend their use on a farm poultry 
plant or any place where poultryraising was not a special 
business, taking precedence over all other work. 
BROODERS.—FIRELESS.—Within the past few 
vears fireless brooders have come into use and. seem to 
be perfectly adapted to brooding chicks which are hatched 
at the time in the year that hens usually hatch chickens. 
They are not recommended for cold weather, but those 
who use incubators and do not start them until after 
March 1 can use them with satisfaction. Fireless brood- 
ers are not recommended for outdeor use at any time, as 
they are not built to withstand stormy weather. They 
may be used in any building, however, as there is no fire 
about them and they are absolutely safe as far as fire 1s 
concerned. The principle of the fireless brooder is to 
conserve the animal heat of the chickens themselves and 
keep them warm, much as the mother hen does by sup- 
plying them a safe place to hover together, with an op- 
portunity to spread apart if they become too warm. In 
