one in three million and the best breeders in the land have 

 found that to establish a flock from too high prestige birds 

 usually results in disappointment. A chicken hatched from 

 a 300 egg hen or better, really has not the vitality and the 

 laying capacity that a chicken hatched from a flock averag- 

 ing from 180 to 250 per year has. 



The question is, 



WHEN DOES IT PAY TO INCUBATE EGGS? 



This question is often asked as to whether it pays to in- 

 cubate eggs out of so-called hatching season. From my own 

 experience, I am prepared to say that I think it does pay and 

 have a great many reasons for saying so. First, eggs which 

 are produced during summer months would not bring as 

 much as the winter eggs if sold at ordinary market prices, 

 so that not so much is risked when you put them into an in- 

 cubator and if only a small percent of the eggs are reaped 

 from them, the net results will be greater. 



As we all know, July and August are trying months for 

 young chicks, yet it is possible to feed and care for them 

 so that there is but the ordinary loss. The second reason for 

 incubating continually is so that you will have pullets of dif- 

 ferent ages coming into maturity in succession and so being 

 able to get eggs at all times of the year. Dairy men use this 

 method of getting milk. By having new milch cows from 

 time to time they will thus be able to supply customers with 

 milk every day in the year, and if you have a private egg 

 trade, your customers will appreciate the fact of getting 

 fresh eggs at all seasons and plenty of them. A third reason 

 is that your interest in the work is kept up. There is a fasci- 

 nation for things that have life and especially so with eggs, 

 and little chicks have a way of keeping one over the border- 

 land of uncertainty. This very fact keeps us interested in 

 our work which never grows monotonous as so many other 

 things do, nor does the interest lag as the chicks become 

 quite healthy. To the real honest-to-goodness fancier, the 

 study of birds as they develop becomes more full of interest 

 at each new set of birds. If you watch their growth and de- 

 velopment, you will find yourself forming an opinion of the 

 relative value of different fowls and if you are familiar with 

 requirements of the standard of perfection, you will keep 

 comparing them as they grow and come near to maturity. 



