-RANKIN'S ^iJOK-'-SOaK 



tiiity in an egg is the gem of' decay. It often happens in 

 the winter, when, eggs are apt to be -infertile, that, after test- 

 ing the contents of .four trays, they, can be contained in three, 

 -W;hen the other, can, be filled with iresh eggs.; He-re: is -where 

 .the .advantage. of -adjustable trays comes in. . Often, the opera- 

 tor running a large machine has not eggs enough to fill it with- 

 out a part of the eggs becoming. very, cold, and also losing 

 ten or twelve days of valuable time; with the adjustable tray, 

 eggs can be introduced at. any time, and, the same heat. pre- 

 served on all. I usually tested duck eggs atthe elid of the 

 third day. The fertile germ is then plainly visible', and the 

 eggs can be passed before the light, several at a time. 



The novice had better postpone the operation till the fourth 

 day, when he too, will have no trouble in detecting the germ. 

 The same rule will hold good with all white eggs, but dark- 

 brown eggs should not be tested till the sixth or seventh day. 

 This can be done much sooner, but a large machine full can- 

 not be tested in a minute, and the eggs should be far enough 

 advanced so that the operator can take two or three in his 

 hand at once, and passing them before the flame, readily de- 

 tect the germ. I never used a tester for duck eggs, as a 

 simple flame is sufficient, the egg being translucent. 



During the first stages of incubation the germ is very 

 distinct, even at the third day. The clear eggs are reserved 

 for family use or disposed of to bakers. An expert cannot 

 distinguish them from a fresh-laid egg, either in taste or ap- 

 pearance. There is usually a small percentage of the eggs 

 that are slightly fertilized, in which the germ will die during 

 the second or third day. These can be readily detected at the 

 end of the fifth day, and should be taken from the machine, 

 and reserved as food for the young ducklings. Another and 

 potent reason why all infertile eggs, and those with dead 

 chicks in them, should be taken out of the machine, is that 

 after the circulation begins in the egg, especially during the 

 last part of the hatch, the temperature of a live egg is several 

 degrees higher than that of a dead one. The one radiates 

 heat, the other absorbs it; so that if the operator is running 

 his machine 102 degrees, with his glass on a dead egg, he 

 may be all unconsciously running it at 104 or 105 degrees on 

 a live one. 



I had a letter from a man some time ago stating that his 

 thermometers were developing strangs freaks, — that though 

 they registered the same while in water, at 103 degrees, when 

 lying on the eggs a few inches from each other in the ma- 

 chine, they were several degrees apart, and wishing to know 



