66 PROFITS IN POULTRY. 
one year of age being mated with two-year old hens. 
The eggs of the second lot were from hens that were 
mated with a brother, and the flock had been bred in for 
three years. The consequence was that while there was 
life in each egg there was not sufficient vitality in the 
chick to enable it to break out. 
There are numerous reasons for not expecting full 
hatches. Eggs from pullets do not always hatch, nor do 
those from hens that are very fat; yet such eggs may be 
fertile. Eggs that have been chilled will sometimes con~ 
tain chicks that have advanced to the stage of ten days, 
when placed in an incubator; besides, frequent handling, 
or delay in placing them in the incubator, may also 
affect the result. Hence, the first and most important 
matter is to use eggs specially secured for the purpose. 
The hen that steals her nest, byrunaing at large, and 
having all the privileges and advantages of exercise, 
hatches nearly all the eggs, for the reason that if one 
hatches all should do so, as they have the same parent- 
age, while we are compelled to use eggs from different 
‘hens, but few of them being alike inany respect. The 
hen deposits her eggs where they are seldom disturbed, 
while we subject them to frequent handling and change- 
able temperatures. It is doubtful if any farmer would 
consider himself unlucky if he succeeded in raising 
seven chicks out of every ten hatched; yet this propor- 
ticn is equal to a loss of thirty in every hundred. If, 
therefore, an incubator be used, this should be consid- 
ered, and when the loss is apparently heavy, a compari- 
son should be made with the work done by hens, which 
will, as a rule, be in favor of the incubator and 
brooder. 
Having stated what the conditions should be, so far 
as the eggs are concerned, the next step is to consider 
the defects existing in many of the incubators that are 
‘placed upon the market; and as I am not a manufac. 
