THE INCUBATION OF HENS' EGGS 



201 



Isis. The methods used from the earhest times are still in 

 use. 



The firs-t account of these methods is given in The Voiage 

 and Travaile of Sir John Maundeville, Kt., written before 

 1356 A.D. A Frenchman, Reaumur, in a treatise on The 

 Art of Hatching and Bringing np Domestic Fowls, published 

 in 1750, gives a detailed description of the Egyptian incuba- 

 tory, which tallies ciuite closely with that of the United 

 States Consul-Cieneral Cardwell, of Cairo, made in 1890. 



Fig. 97 



Ancient Egyptian hatcliery. 



The general i)lan of the F,gy])tian hatcheries is shown by 

 Figures 97 and 9JS, taken from ii'eauninr. The one described 

 by Cardwell was " constructed of siui-dried brick, mortar, and 

 earth." It "was a structure seventy feet long, sixty feet 

 wide, and sixteen feet high. It was provided with twelve 

 compartments, or incubators, each capable of holding 7500 

 eggs, making a total capacity of 90,000 eggs undergoing 

 incubation at one time." Heat is furnished by fires in grates 

 built in the rooms where the eggs are hatched. The proper 

 temperature is judged by the attendant by his sense of heat 

 and cold, and regulated by means of ventilators in the walls. 

 The eggs are tested for fertility on the tenth day with the 

 palm of the hand, or by placing against the face. Those 

 noticeably cold are regarded as infertile, and discarded. 

 The Egyptian ovens are public institutions and run on a toll 



