ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION I77 



have done that, putting the Brahma eggs in half a 

 day earher, so as to give them that much handicap, 

 with fairl)- good results; and it is probable that if 

 you put the Leghorn egg into the machine half a day 

 later than you do the Wyandottes and Plymouth 

 Rocks, the conditions w^ould be more equable. Still, 

 as a rule, it would be better to hatch Leghorn eggs 

 by themselves. 



Some Advantages of Incubators — By using an 

 incubator chickens can be hatched earlier in the sea- 

 son. By having early hatched chickens much better 

 prices can be obtained, and the chickens mature ear- 

 lier in the fall and will commence laying before winter 

 sets in, and if properly cared for a large number of 

 winter eggs can be obtained. By using an incubator 

 hens can be stopped from sitting and can commence 

 laying again. A much larger number of chickens can 

 be raised on a small lot. An incubator is time saving. 

 It requires fourteen to sixteen large hens to cover 

 200 tg^S; and to look after these hens properly will 

 require three times as much time as a 200-egg incuba- 

 tor will require. It will take eight gallons oil to the 

 hatch with a 200-egg incubator, which, at fifteen cents 

 per gallon, will amount to $1.20. It will take half 

 a pint of corn per day to properly feed a sitting hen. 

 For sixteen hens, four quarts per day would be 

 required and for twenty-one days it would amount to 

 eighty-four quarts. With corn at sixty-four cents per 

 bushel (two cents per quart), the cost of feeding six- 

 teen hens for twenty-one days would amount to $1.68. 

 It costs less to heat the incubator than to feed the 

 hens. By having the incubator thoroughly disinfected 

 before the eggs are put in, we avoid the worry and 

 trouble of lice and mites. — [O. M. Watson, South 

 Carolina. 



