rilE INCUBATION OF HKNS' EGOS 221 



and in different locations. The routine of management 

 suggested hereafter lias been found satisfactory in three 

 west-central states lying in the heart of the heavy poultry 

 producing section. 



Levelling the Machine. — The incubator should i)e made 

 level so that there will be no high, hot corners. This may 

 he accomplished by the use of a carpenter's level, taking 

 care to see that it is level from front to back as well as from 

 side to side. 



Disinfection. — If the incubator has been used before, during 

 the same or previous season, the egg chamber and nursery 

 should be very thoroughly disinfected, including the trays, 

 tlicnnnnietcr, and mo'sture pans. Disease that has done no 

 special harm among chicks of a previous hatch may assmnc 

 the ])r()portions of an epidemic in a subsecpient one. A .'! per 

 cent solution of any of the standard coal-tar stock dips will 

 l:)e found satisfactory for this purpose. It is not necessary 

 for the machine to be dried out before putting in the eggs, 

 provided the proper temperature has been reached. 



Preparing the Lamp. — The lamp should not be filled above 

 a point a half-inch from the top. In a lamp that is too full 

 the oil is likely to work out on the outside of the bowl and 

 up on the burner, causing fumes, and possibly a deposit of 

 soot, and smoking. 



It is an excellent practice to pin two wicks together in 

 starting the hatch as a precaution against the oil being 

 low and the wick getting short and putting out the lamp 

 toward the end of the hatch. 



Care should be taken in the beginning as throughout the 

 rim to see tliat the Hanie is round, as in Figure 102, and has no 

 points or corners, as in Figure 103. This may be accom- 

 plished in the beginning by cutting off the corners of the wick, 

 as shown in Figure 102, and by wiping or scraping off the 

 charring thereafter rather than cutting it off with the scissors. 

 Corners or ])()ints on the side of a flame tend to deposit soot on 

 the side of the heater flue. If this continues unnoticed the 

 accumulations soon become sufficient to choke the draft 

 and cause a bad "smoke up" and even a fire. 



The burner and lamp must be kept absolutely free of oil 



