SUCCESS WITH POULTRY 



41 



tained within the walls is divided as shown in Fig. No. 1. 

 The circular ovens are built up and the space between them 

 and the wall filled in with bricks and mortar, the same as 

 the outer wall. Bach set of ovens, the upper and the lo^er, 

 is perfectly • independent and is covered by a dome having 

 a very small aperature in the crown. 



Fig. No. 2 represents the elevation on the line A B of 

 Fig. 1. The height of the lower oven is four feet, that 

 of the upper one nine. The interior diameter between the 

 ridges d d is fifteen feet. 



Fig. No. 3 represents the elevation on the line C B of 

 Fig. 1, and shows the disposition of the central wall and the 

 doors of the ovens. For this particular incubatory the at- 

 tendants consist of two men and a boy. 



In the month of January, about the 10th, fires are 

 lighted in all the ovens and on the floor of the central hall. 

 The entire building is thoroughly warmed to a temperature 

 of 110 degrees Fahrenheit. This heat is continued for three 

 weeks, when the temperature is allowed to fall to 100 de- 

 grees Fahrenheit. 



The fires are at first composed of gelleh or dried cow dung, 

 but when the eggs are placed in the oven coarse broken 

 straw, mostly the joints, and sheep or goat dung is used. 

 The fuel is placed in the trough between the hall and the 

 ridge, and is lighted at one or more places, according to 

 the degrees of heat required. This is the only means of 

 regulating the heat. Thermometers are not used. The at- 

 tendants endeavor to keep the heat a trifle greater than 

 that of their own skin. 



While the oven is being warmed, notice is sent out to 

 the villages that the establishment will purchase eggs on 

 such a date. The country people arrive with large crates 



, containing from one to two thousand. These are purchased 

 outright by the establishment at the rate of $4.00 per 1,000. 



The floor of the oven is covered with a coarse mat 

 made of palm leaves; on this a little bran is sprinkled to 

 prevent the eggs from rolling. The attendant changes the 

 positon of the eggs twice a day, taking those from near 

 the man-hole and placing them in the outer edge of tlie 

 circle ana vice versa. At the end of six days the eggs are 

 held up one by one towards a strong light. If they appear 

 clear aijd oi a uniform color, it is. evident that they have 

 not succeeded; but if they show an opaque substance within 

 or the appearance of different shades, the chickens are al- 

 ready formed. The bad eggs are removed and the others 

 are continued in their places for four days; at the expiration 

 of this time they are again examined and then put back 

 into their places, the same continual shifting from the inner 

 to the outer part of the circle being observed. The doors 

 of the ovens are kept hermetically closed by a small plank 

 well caulked. This is removed in the forenoon and after- 

 noon and once during the night to see that the heat is kept 

 at the proper point. 



After the eggs have been fifteen days in the ovens they 

 are daily examined, and so delicate is the touch of the at- 

 tendant that he can at once distinguish if the eggs be alive 

 by the fact that it should be slightly warmer than his 

 own skin. 



At the expiration of twenty-one days the chicks com- 

 mence to emerge from the shells, the attendants constantly 

 aiding them. They are placed in the spaces d d Fig. 1 and 

 left to dry for pearly forty-eight hours, but they are not 

 fed. The sale then commences and in a few hours they are 

 spirited away. The temperature in the central -hall is main- 

 tained at 98 F., and that of the ovens slightly more. 



BEST BREEDS FOR BROILERS 



Valuable Points in Broiler Raising by a Man Who Achieved Success in This Line — The Merits 



of the Light Brahmas, Leghorn-Bantams, Wyandotte-Brahmas, Barred and 



White Rocks and White Wyandottes Set Forth. 



BY ARTHUR G. DUSTON. 



AT THE request of the editor I am going to present 

 to the readers some hints on broiler-raising as ex- 

 emplified by me on my farm. I have thought best 

 to divide these into two papers — one on varieties 

 and their comparative values, the other on forcing for 

 growth. I believe that many lose courage in raising broil- 

 ers by not obtaining the right stock at the start. 



First, many try Brahmas. They might do far worse. 

 Let us take the Brahma from the egg and follow it. Mr. 

 Feleh says Brahmas are superior for this purpose. Tet, in 

 an argument with an incubator manufacturer his first and 

 best-proved claim is, that they do not hatch as well arti- 

 ficially as eggs from the American or Mediterranean classes. 

 Does it pay to put eggs in machines that will make the 

 chicks cost, on coming into the brooder house, 25 to 50 per 

 cent more than others? 



Once in the brooder, Brahmas prove very strong as little 

 chicks, but look out for leg-weaknesses, their heavy bodies 

 proving too much fbr small legs. 



Again, any one watching chicks raised artificially knows 

 that they wi^l attain their height earlier than those raised 

 with hens. So a Brahma chick has that against it as a broil- 

 er, for long legs with feathers on them hurt a broiler in 

 the market. But, properly taken care of, Light Brahmas 

 will prove fairly satisfactory as broilers. As roasters, which 

 subject cannot be even touched on in this article, they are 

 choice. 



"While the Brahma is under consideration it seems well 

 to take up two of the more popular crosses made with them, 

 viz: Leghorn on Brahma and Wyandotte on Brahma. 



Leghorn on Brahma have some very good points, which 

 are: Yellow skin and legs, fairly plump bodies, andthey also 

 feather early, but a large proportion of the early eotkerels 

 will be so near full blood Leghorn that they would easily 

 be taken for them by a casual observer, and to force them; 

 giving a liberal quantity of meat or ground bone, together 

 with the heat, will develop extremely large combs, which 

 gives the appearance in a dressed bird of its being old — a 



