THE QUESTION OF SUPPLIES 409 



Stronger light than a lamp tester, and costs perhaps five 

 dollars. All the testers I have seen work fairly well ; 

 which really means little more than that they give light 

 enough for the work. A home-made tester can be made 

 that will do practical work. A hollow tube through which 

 one looks toward the light, the eggs being held singly 

 against the end farthest from the eye, answers the pur- 

 pose of many. Better, is a cylinder of tin or tough, 

 elastic pasteboard, large enough to set over a lamp car- 

 rying a Rochester or similar burner. 



One of the most interesting supplies is the rotating 

 cylinder hung in a frame, and known as " the lice-killing 

 machine." I used one of these for some years and 

 found it to do its work well. The chief objection to it 

 was that it frightened the chicks sadly ; but this can 

 be partly obviated by turning the cylinder very slowly. 

 The chicks are placed, together with a safe lice powder, 

 in the cylinder, which is then turned by a crank, just as 

 you would turn a corn sheller handle. It is easy to see 

 that the chicks may be far more thoroughly cleaned in 

 this machine than by hand, even though one tried to be 

 very thorough indeed with the latter method. Tobacco 

 makes the chicks' eyes smart, but I think insect powder 

 is not so much open to objection. The machines are 

 made in several sizes ; when using the chick size, a 

 goodly brood can be put in at once. 



The foot punches and leg bands make distinction of 

 special birds so easy that no one who raises poultry in 

 any numbers should be without them. They are an 

 almost necessary adjunct to the trap nest, which is of 

 little value unless the fowls can be distinguished, each 

 from the other. 



