INCUBATION 165 



celsior is placed on the bottom and around the 

 sides. In this the eggs are carefully wrapped in 

 excelsior or paper and the basket filled with ex- 

 celsior and gently pressed down to prevent any 

 possible shifting of the eggs from their positions. 

 Cheesecloth or cotton is now tacked over the top 

 and the words " eggs for hatching " painted or 

 stenciled on the cloth itself. The label is fixed to 

 :the handle. Baskets, it is claimed, can be shipped 

 I with more certainty of their safe arrival than boxes. 

 .Upon receipt of a package or a basket of eggs for 

 hatching, the eggs should not be removed unless 

 the hen or the incubator is ready to receive them. 

 Until hatching can be started the basket or the 

 package should be turned over daily. 



CLASSES OF INCUBATORS 



There are two very distinct types of incubators 

 on the market ; the hot-water tank and the hot-air 

 machine. Perhaps the latter is really far more 

 ancient than the former, but until a few years back 

 there were no hot-air machines that could approach 

 the hot-water tank. After giving both sys- 

 tems a very long and exhaustive trial, generally 

 speaking results have proved satisfactory from 

 ■ both. There are certainly indifferent and bad ex- 

 amples in each kind to be obtained, and experiences 

 vary accordingly. A great deal, then, depends upon 

 the incubator purchased. It may be taken as a 

 general rule that any machine which has a reputa- 

 tion of some years' standing has been found to 

 answer very well in the hands of reasonable people. 



The best incubator, of course, is the one which 

 approaches in its work the closest to Nature. In 



