342 FARM ANIMALS 
profits recourse must be had to an incubator. The incu- 
bator is simply a machine or artificial hen that does for 
the eggs what nature demands. With eggs well fertilized 
a good hen will produce good chickens. A good machine 
well managed will give the same and even better results, 
but more care and attention will be required for machine- 
TAKING THE HATCH FROM THE JNCUBATOR 
Having given close attention to all the details of selecting the eggs and running the 
incubator, this man hatched 93 chicks out of every 100 fertile eggs. 
hatched than hen-hatched chicks. A great deal depends 
upon the incubator used. The closer it approaches na- 
ture in its work the better. Of the two types—hot water 
and hot air—either is satisfactory, providing the machine 
is well built and properly adjusted. 
3. Incubator essentials—\Vithout proper and _ well- 
regulated heat there could be nv incubation of the eggs. 
Top heat is essential; otherwise, rising from the bottom, 
it would evaporate the moisture from the eggs too 
quickly. Heat must therefore start not at the bottom of 
