KEEPING HATCHING EGGS 



261 



serve that the hen laying a long egg or round egg will continue 

 to lay the form peculiar to her with very little variation, pro- 

 viding she is not frightened or injured in any way. 



Freshness. — Common sense teaches us that freshness is a 

 prime necessity in hatching eggs. Successful poultrymen aim 

 to set eggs as soon as possible after they are laid. Not only be- 

 cause eggs a day or two old hatch from 12 to 24 hours earlier 

 than those kept a couple of weeks, but because the longer an 

 egg is kept the more evaporation takes place, which weakens 

 its vitality. If eggs are held in too low a temperature, the chilling 

 is likely to injure them. If they are stored where it is too warm 



Fig. 165. — End view and section of egg cabinet as shown in Fig. 164. 



the development of the germ is apt to start, and later die. A 

 temperature of about 50 degrees F. seems to be best. 



The eggs should not be .permitted to stand in a direct draft, 

 or exposed to steam, vapor or fumes of a deleterious nature. 

 The shells of eggs are exceedingly porous, therefore they are pre- 

 disposed to outside influences. It is a bad plan to wash eggs 

 intended for incubation. If they are so dirty as to make this 

 necessary, they had better be discarded altogether. Moisture 

 only helps to convey any soiled matter into the interior of the 

 egg through the pores in the shell. 



In cold weather eggs intended for hatching should be gathered 

 several times a day to prevent chilling, and in hot weather they 



