ON A TOWN LOT 



CHAPTER III 



23 



Incubators and Brooders 



birthday when the egg is laid or when it is hatched?" 

 I cannot answer ! Nor have I been able to find a 

 solution to the following questions : 



Whether first the egg, or the hen? 

 Tell me, I pray, ye learned men. 

 The hen was first, or whence the egg? 

 Give us no more of your doubts, I beg. 

 The egg was first, or whence the hen? 

 Tell me how it came or when. 



But I do know that "In the beginning is the egg.'' 

 So, with your permission, I will here discuss my experience with in- 

 cubators and brooders. 



As soon as we got nicely settled in our Berea home, we decided that 

 the next thing was some chickens. So, off went my order for an incubator. 

 Just a short time before this, I had visited a small poultry farm and was 

 delighted by the beauty of the birds, and pleased with their utility as 

 shown by the fact that they were working their heads off laying eggs in 

 January. Some of them were busy in their nests. Others were trying to 

 crowd them off. Others were cackling after laying. There seemed to be 

 a general atmosphere of hustle and bustle in the hen houses. It certainly 

 seemed unusual to observe so much industry in hen houses during mid- 

 winter — and this condition made a great impression on me. 



I placed my order for eggs from these fowls, because the first thing 

 I was after was a breed that would produce winter as well as summer 

 eggs — not occasionally but frequently and systematically. The eggs ar- 

 rived in the spring, a few days later than the incubator. 



Preliminary Testing of Incubator 



The incubator was placed in the basement, and after regulating the 

 machine so that the thermometer registered 102^4 degrees, I tested out 

 the machine for two or three days to be sure that I had it well regulated 

 before the eggs were put in. I didn't want to take the chance of a 

 short hatch. A great deal had been said to me about the expense ot 



