SOME OPEN SECRETS 131 



made well up in the web, but not far enough to in- 

 jure the bones. By making the holes between dif- 

 ferent toes and punching both feet it is possible to 

 make a large number of combinations. It follows, 

 of course, that a record of these marks must be kept, 

 or the work will go for nothing. Leg bands are 

 often used for marking poultry ; they are adjustable 

 to legs of varying sizes and cost but fifteen cents a 

 dozen or seventy-five cents for a hundred. Each 

 band is numbered and a record of the numbers must 

 be kept. 



When a broody hen deserts her nest, as a broody 

 hen sometimes will, the amateur should not become 

 needlessly alarmed. If the weather is not exceed- 

 ingly cold or the hen off for several hours before her 

 defection is discovered, the chances are that the 

 eggs will hatch, although the chicks may be a day or 

 two later in coming out. There usually is even 

 time to go to a neighbor's home to borrow a sit- 

 ting hen if there is not an extra one at hand. The 

 new hen's head should be covered when she is be- 

 ing moved to meet such an emergency and the nest 

 should be made dark when she is put on the 

 eggs. 



If a hen deserts a nest, her action is likely to be 



