14 



EAISING FOWLS AND EGGS 



in such enormous quantities, according to their concealed 

 method. The " oyens " we allude to are called mamals, in 

 Egypt. Each mamal has its Bermean, anfl one man only is 

 entrusted with its management. He is educated from child- 

 hood to the work, but the French author from whom we quote, 

 advances the proposition (very cautiously) that this huge 

 quantity of chickens, which will be looked upon as really pro- 

 digious, might be annually produced in France, or other popu- 

 lous countries, ihrough means approximating in character to 

 those employed by the Egyptians. 



Then Mens. Reaumur goes on to tell how common bakers' 

 and pastry-cooks' ovens may be utilized, to produce similar re- 

 sults. Indeed he details numerous experiments he tried, and 

 succeeded with excellently well, with such ovens — or rather 

 the waste heat of them — in the space over the hot bread and 

 pie ovens of Paris. At the convent of the Society of L'enfant 



A MOVABLE CHICKEK-COOP. 



Jesus, with the nuns at the Convent St. Sulpice, and also un- 

 der the superintendence of the Abbe Menon — in France, the 

 experiments with their baking ovens were practiced upon de 

 Reaumur's suggestion with a few hundreds of eggs at a hatch- 

 ing, with remarkable success and satisfac'tiou. 



Prior to the issuing of this book by de Reaumur — away 

 back a hundred and forty years ago — the Duke of Tuscany 

 (so Thevenot asserts) in order to indulge a laudable curiosity 

 " for which the ancient house of Medicis was eminent, had sent 

 to him from Egypt one of these educated Bermeans, skilkd in 

 the art of hatching chickens," who hatched some at Florence, 

 .<ith as good success as they were got out in Egypt.' This ex- 



