HATCHING. 67 



possible, avoid it ; a great objection being, that 

 what is out of sight, is often out of mind, and 

 the poor sitter may not be taken off her nest with 

 the same regularity as the hens in the sitting- 

 house. 



If you have a large bevy of brooding hens, it 

 is advisable to number each nest, and register it 

 in your diary, along with the date of setting and 

 description of eggs ; when hatched, the number 

 of chickens should also be entered. Some hens 

 are reluctant to give up sitting, and wUl hatch a 

 second brood, with manifest pleasure, but it is 

 cruel to overtax their strength and patience ; more 

 or less, they are sure to suffer. If altogether re- 

 strained from sitting, however, a hen suffers much 

 La moulting, and is restless and excited for the 

 rest of the season. Pullets are less to be trusted, 

 as sitters, than more mature hens, and (being 

 rather erratic in their dispositions) are not very 

 careful mothers. Artificial incubators are now 

 extensively used, and where there is a command 

 of gas they are easily managed. I, however, pre- 

 fer the natural mother, as should some prove 

 faithless, others wiU be found to take their place. 



