A GUIDE FOR KEEPERS OF POULTRY 311 
be hatched in an incubator and raised in a brooder until 
three months old, but only in lots of 25, as they require 
constant attention. Capons make excellent nurses for 
young turkeys. It is not advisable to mate a 40-pound 
gobbler with common hens, as injury is likely to result. A 
medium-sized gobbler is preferable. Young gobblers may 
be distinguished from the females by being heavier, more 
masculine appearing about the head, heavier caruncles 
and a development of “tassels” on the breast. A little 
experience is required at first. Adult turkeys can not be 
kept in confinement, as they will pine away. By feeding 
in the barnyard a little night and morning they will not 
stray away very far, but can not be prevented from roam- 
ing. The hen prefers to make her own nest. Gobblers 
and hens of the same age may be mated but it is better 
to have different ages. 
USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT EGGS.—\Within 
a few years the poultry industry has become fourth or 
fifth in rank among our rural industries, and promises 
soon to become of yet greater importance. In view of 
the very large preventable losses in every stage of the 
progress of eggs from the producer to the consumer, it 
becomes important to give the subject of the production 
and handling eggs serious thought, that these losses may 
be avoided. For this reason it seems advisable to give 
in this connection some information about eggs that will 
add to their value and thus increase the net revenue de- 
rived from them by the producer and those who handle 
them on their way to the ultimate consumer. It is im- 
possible to give more than a guess at the aggregate value 
of the eggs produced in this country. While the average 
farmer can closely approximate the number of bushels of 
wheat, corn or other farm crops he produces within a 
