lif QUANTITY, FOB MARKET. 13 



towards success consisting simply (as in the cases of the Amer- 

 ican artificial incubators of Graves, or Halsted,) in keeping up 

 a constant and regular needful degree of heat, and knowing 

 exactly how to manage the ovens to effect this object. 



A veritable account is given of the enormous number of 

 chickens thus hatched in Egypt, as well as the exact number 

 of ovens in use at that period, by the Bermeans. There were 

 then 386 licensed ovens. " This number," says Father Sicard, 

 " can never be increased, or diminished, witho.ut the fact being 

 known ; since the Aga of Berme — a governing official — is the 

 lawful recipient of a regular tax of eight or ten crowns each 

 for the privilege allowed to run an oven ; and this being his 

 rent-roll, all operators are duly licensed and registered. Thus 

 it is known that there are (or were) 386 ovens annually oper- 

 ated in Egypt — say in 1740 to '45. 



In each oven they contrive to turn out, in six month's time, 

 an average of eight broods, or hatchings, one after another. 

 This gives three thousand and eighty-eight broods. The num- 

 ber of eggs set in each oven, at one time, is from 45,000 to 

 60,000. If three-fourths of the eggs hatch, (and this is said to 

 be about the average product) we find that there are produced 

 in Egypt by this secret artificial process 3,088 broods of say 

 30,000 live chicks, each ; or the amazing number in the aggre- 

 gate of ninety-two millions, six hundred and forty thousand, an- 

 nually 1 At all events, this was the official record, more than 

 one hundred and twenty-five years ago. 



Americans naturally exclaim " where do all these eggs come 

 from just at the right time for setting, thus ? " And " w^ut 

 do they do with these'millions of chicks, as to raising, and dis- 

 posing of them, after hatching? " We will answer these nat- 

 ural questions and quote some farther information upon this 

 curious, but interesting work — which has wondrously increased 

 in proportions, as a business in Egypt, since the middle of the 

 last century. 



It is doubtful if we in America could possibly follow the 

 Egyptian,'or Bermean lead, in this business of raising poultry 



