Money in Broilers and Squabs. '22 



CHAPTER V. 



Artificial Methods as Given by Some of America's Greatest Experts. 



In 1891, Farm Journal published an article by M. Sumner 

 Perkins, of Danvers, Mass., on hatching and rearing chickens in 

 winter by artificial means. The article in question was awarded 

 the prize of $25 offered by J. L. Campbell, West Elizabeth, Pa., 

 manufacturer of the Eureka incubator, for the best essay on the 

 aforesaid subject. 



We make the following extracts from Mr. Perkin's article, 

 which are worthy of note : 



"Broody hens are generally a very scarce article in winter time, 

 so that the hatching of chickens in any numbers at this season 

 must be eflfected solely through the instrumentality of the incuba- 

 tor. Artificial hatching certainly does away with much labor and 

 annoyance that is generally attendant upon the pursuence of natural 

 methods ; and many persons find much more pleasure and satisfac- 

 tion in running a good incubator than in attending to a sufficient 

 number of broody hens to accomplish. a like result. 



"As far as the best kind of an incujiator to be used is concerned, 

 it is a notable fact that much more depends on the operator than 

 on the machine. An expert, of knowledge and experience in arti- 

 ficial hatching, will often be quite successful with the crudest form 

 of an incubator, while the amateur, or ignorant person, will often 

 fail with the most improved. It is true, however, that the higher 

 priced class of machines are the best and give the most general 

 satisfaction. It is always poor economy to be unduly influenced 

 by cost in the purchase of an incubator. 



"Machines without means of automatic regulation are sold 

 very cheaply; and, most invariably, they are of little value, for a 

 first-class incubator, fully equipped in accordance with the present 

 advanced ideas, in reference to artificial incubation, cannot be con- 

 structed for a nominal sum. Good material and skilled workman- 

 ship in the construction of an incubator, together with an efficient 

 system of self regulation of the same, cannot be secured inexpen- 

 sively, and a hatching machine without a heat regulator, is like 

 a ship' without a rudder. Disaster generally follows the use of the 

 one as of the other. 



"The running of the incubator in a small way at first, merely 

 in the line of an experiment, is often of incalculable value to the 

 novice, the experience and knowledge so acquired, promoting a 



