THE M6G.—ISCUBAriON. 17 



fresh eggs, a few hours later with stale ones— the chick will break the shell, and 

 will soon emerge. 



The egg is thus seen to contain every element, except oxygen, necessary to 

 the formation of the living chick ; the flesh, blood and bone ; the horn of the 

 beak, claw and qnill ; the plume of the feather, the various internal organs, and 

 the digestive fluids. 



With this review of the constitution of the egg, its nature and the best meth- 

 ods of managing it may be more easily understood. Thus the processes for pre- 

 serving eggs depend upon the porous construction of the shell, the point 

 necessary to be attained being the complete exclusion of the air; which may 

 be accomplished by coating the shells with oil, grease or wax, or by immersing 

 the eggs in a thin, creamy mixture of lime and water. Simply sealing the eggs 

 in air-tight jars will prevent their decay for a considerable time, and where it is 

 desired to preserve them for hatching purposes, this method should be employed 

 in preference to filling the pores with oil, etc., as it is necessary to the growth of 

 the embryo that these pores should be kept open. 



The peculiar construction of th^ egg-shell gives it such strength that a man 

 may exert all his force upon it without breaking it, by placing it endwise be- 

 tween the palms of his hands and applying the force equally at all points; hence 

 eggs may be packed in barrels, hoxes or baskets, and shipped long distances 

 without injury, provided they be surrounded_by some elastic material, as oats, 

 bran, cut hay, etc., thoroughly packed around all sides, so that they cannot come 

 in contact with each other. This fact, and the peculiar internal construction of 

 the egg, the yelk and albumen being surrounded by separate membranes, and 

 the germ so perfectly balanced, rendering the mixture of these parts impossible, 

 make the shipping of eggs for hatching purposes so feasible that they are annu- 

 ally sent in larg« quantities hundreds and thousands of miles, through the express 

 companies, being simply packed in light boxes, or preferably in baskets with 

 handles ; a layer of bran, oats, sawdust, or, best of all, finely cut hay or straw, 

 being placed in the bottom of the basket; the eggs placed on end on this, and 

 surrounded with the packing material in such a way that they will not touch, 

 and the whole held in place by a cloth cover sewed to the sides of the basket. 



INCUBATION. 



In the management of incubation, whether natural or artificial, we may learn 

 much from the habits of the hen that is allowed to follow her natural instincts; 

 thus, her nest is generally located upon the ground, under the shelter of a fence- 

 row or thicket, and secluded as much as possible from intrusion ; the eartJiyjloor 

 of the nest, tiling non-conductive of heat, retains that imparted from the body 

 of the hen, whUe its moisture, together with that gathered by the hen during 

 her early morning excursions for food, prevent an undue evaporation of the 

 water of the egg. The eggs are never disturbed by turning or other handli«j|; 

 and when the embryo matures into a chick it pecks its way out of its stony ceSl 

 without any other help than its own instinct and that of its hen-mother. The 

 success of this method of incubation is proverbial, and he who can secure as 

 large a percentage of chicks from his eggs under any method of management, 

 as does the hen that thus Steals her nest, may be well satisfied. 



