ARTIFICIAL INCUBATING AND BROODING 



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17— GROUND PLAN OF CELLAR FOR TEN LARGE INCUBATORS 



there should be two shelves, one just high enough to place the 

 egg tester on, and have the eggs come in direct line with the eye 

 when the operator is seated on an ordinary high stool, and he 

 will be able to pass the eggs before the light very rapidly. 



The second shelf should be beneath this and should be of 

 sufficient size to accommodate two incubator trays, one full and 

 one empty, and a basket having two compartments, one for in- 

 fertile eggs and one for dead germs. It is very little trouble to 

 furnish a dark room in an incubator cellar, in this manner and 

 the expense is small. Such a room should be ventilated by a 

 hinged window, the glass of which has been painted black or has 

 a black cloth tacked over it. It is surprising what an amount 

 of labor such a room, properly equipped, will save in course of 

 a season in running a number of incubators. Provision can also 

 be made for testing by aid of direct or reflected sunlight by 

 having in the outer window a special pane fitted, with an opening 

 like that in the egg tester and a mirror arranged outside the build- 

 ing to reflect the rays of the sun. The writer ran twenty large 

 machines in an incubator cellar equipped with a dark room as 

 above described and by keeping a careful record of the time 

 spent in the incubator cellar he was surprised to find that, after 

 doing all the work required, filling the lamps, trimming them 

 attending to the regulation of the machines, filling the machines 

 turning the eggs, testing them and everything necessary from 

 starting the eggs until the chicks were ready to be taken to the 

 the brooders, the average time required per machine was not 

 over ten minutes per day. 



Other useful furniture in the incubator cellar which made 

 it possible to handle the machines so easily, was a plain pine 

 board table and a five-gallon oil can having a 

 flow, easily controlled spigot. This table 

 placed in the centre of the incubator cellar. I 

 The machines were rights and lefts, ar- 

 ranged along the sides of the room 

 which was a little over 50 feet 

 in length. The lamps of the 

 machines at one end of the 

 table were quickly filled and 

 trimmed by carrying them to 

 the table one at a time, the oil 

 can resting on the end nearest 

 the operator, then the can was 

 transferred to the opposite end 

 of the table and the lamps of 

 the machines on that end were 

 cared for. This is a small 

 matter, yet it proved to be the 

 means of saving a considerable 

 amount of labor. The lamps 



being carried to the table to be filled could 

 then be set on a firm surface for cleaning, 

 which was quickly accomplished by 

 means of a pocket knife and a soft 

 cloth. With a cement floor and the 

 table on rollers or small wheels it would be 

 still more convenient. 



Such an incubator house will be 

 found a most satisfactory style to run, it 

 being easy to have perfect ventilation at 

 all times and very little difficulty in keep- 

 ing the heat at an even temperature even 

 in warm weather. The building in use 

 at Millville is giving very satisfactory 

 results and excellent hatches have been 

 obtained when the temperature outside 

 the building registered close to 100 de- 

 grees for days at a time. 



INCUBATOR CELLAR 



All things considered, the cellar shown herewith is one of 

 the best that has been devised for the purpose. The tem- 

 perature keeps very even and there is just enough natural 

 moisture in the air to give the best results. To build it requires 

 an excavation 3 feet deep and the building of a wall 5 feet high 

 with an additional 2 feet of wood work above it. Bank the 

 earth up against the wall so as to make the cellar 5 feet deep. 



The door is in one end of the building and the stairs are 

 inside so that they are safe from the weather. Four cellar 

 windows are used on each side and are double glass, being placed 

 on each side of the window frame. The inside of the room of 

 the cellar is ceiled with matched stuff. The ceiling runs inside 

 of plate up studs and rafters to a point 10 feet from the floor, 

 where it crosses on the tie beams. The roof,ends and sides may 

 be either shingled or papered. In such an incubator cellar it 

 is well to have the incubators lefts and rights for greater con- 

 venience in the care of them. 



MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR 36-FOOT INCUBATOR CELLAR 



Sills and Plates — 4 pieces 2 by 6, 14 feet; 16 pieces 2 by 6, 

 12 feet 



Rafters — 38 pieces 2 by 6, 16 feet. 

 Collar-beams and Ties — 24 pieces 1 by 6, 16 feet. 

 Roof Boards — 1,300 feet. No. 1 barn siding. 

 Sides and Ends — 400 feet matched stuff. 



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21' 



18— SECTIONAL VIEW SHOWING VENTILATING SYSTEM 



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