68 THE HOME POULTRY BOOK 



of heat. Some people tack a piece of cardboard 

 marked " Day " to one side of the tray and an- 

 other marked " Night " to the other side and make 

 it a point to have the former show when the eggs 

 are put back in the morning and the latter when 

 they are returned to the machine in the evening. 



When the eggs are turned, they may also be 

 aired or cooled. This is an important matter, for 

 it helps to develop strong chicks. While the eggs 

 are out of the machine, the door should be kept 

 closed. The extent to which the eggs should be 

 cooled depends upon conditions. Of course, they 

 can be left out only a short time in very cold 

 weather. Perhaps a safe plan for the amateur is 

 to place a thermometer on the eggs as soon as they 

 have been turned and restore them to the machine 

 when the mercury has dropped to 85 degrees. It 

 is not necessary to become unduly alarmed if the 

 eggs are permitted through inadvertence to become 

 cold. The writer once forgot a tray of eggs until 

 they had been out an hour. Wondering if it would 

 be of any use to continue the hatch, he broke an 

 egg and found a live chicken. The eggs were re- 

 turned to the machine and heated up quickly, with 

 the result that an average hatch was secured. 



