March, 19 13 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



INCUBATORS AND SITTING HENS 



By E. I. FARRINGTON 



NO one is competent to say that it is 

 better for an amateur to use an in- 

 cubator than to rely on sitting hens, or to 

 give advice of the opposite nature. It all 

 depends upon the amateur, for the per- 

 sonal equation looms large in anv phase 

 of poultry keeping. Some poultry people 

 like to fuss with broody hens while others 

 find more satisfaction in studying the points 

 of a hatching machine. Some succeed with 

 one method and fail, or at least do not get 

 satisfactory results with the other. 



Whatever method is adopted, there is 

 just as much truth as ever in the time- 

 worn adage that it is folly to count one's 

 chickens before they are hatched. So many 

 factors enter into the matter. Perhaps 

 the eggs are not strongly fertile, which 

 shifts the responsibility to the breeding pen. 

 Perhaps they have been kept too long, 

 which means more than two weeks ; or 

 under unfavorable conditions, as in a very 

 warm room or a damp place, instead of at 

 a low temperature in a dry corner. Early 

 in the season, eggs often are left in the 

 nests until they have become chilled. In 

 order to have a good hatch it obviously is 

 necessary to use only hatchable eggs, and 

 people who buv eggs for hatching at ran- 

 dom are taking- long chances. 



March and April are the months for the 

 amateur to hatch his chickens — the heavier 

 breeds, like most of those which lay brown 

 eggs, in March, and the lighter breeds, like 

 the Leghorns and Anconas : — the white egg 

 breeds, in short — in the latter month. This 

 comparatively late hatching gives the 

 amateur a decided advantage over the pro- 

 fessional poultryman who must begin his 

 work in January or February, for the eggs 

 have a much higher percentage of fertility 

 as the season advances. Moreover; it 

 makes it much easier for him to raise his 

 chickens, for he may brood them out of 

 doors in most sections of the country. 



If only a few chicks are needed, an in- 

 cubator is out of the question. If fifty or 

 more are to be raised, it is well worth 

 considering. To make sure of raising 100 

 chicks, it is necessary to set 200 eggs. This 

 is a point which the novice is prone to over- 

 look, in his first enthusiasm. As he gains 

 in experience he will be well satisfied if 

 he raises 100 chicks to maturity from a 

 setting of 200 eggs. Many times not over 

 50 per cent, of the eggs set produce live 

 chicks and it is not unusual for but half of 

 these chicks to mature. On that basis it 

 would require 200 eggs for fifty chicks, but 

 we are counting on better luck — or better 



eggs. 



But how fares the novice with his 100 

 chickens when the danger age is passed and 

 it becomes really safe, at last, to count 

 them? Well, this count is pretty sure to 

 al at least fifty cockerels. These 

 cockerels will serve to grace the dining 

 table on Sundays and holidays for nearly a 

 year and do their little part in rutting the 

 of living rir'ht well, but their presence 



SOCIETY'S PREFERENCE 

 MEANS MORE THAN STYLE 



The preference of Society for a certain make of piano, carriage, 

 automobile, etc., is founded on quality — absolute intrinsic worth in 

 manufacture. Our constant association with the vehicle demands 

 of Society for over sixty years has taught us that details, usually 

 passed as unimportant, must be given the utmost of painstaking 

 skill and effort to merit consideration. 



The Rauch & Lang Car being 

 a coach builder's masterpiece dis- 

 tinguishes it from the ordinary 

 "factory " electric. Rauch & Lang 

 Electrics cannot be built in a hurry 

 — those of exclusive taste have al- 

 ways taken our limited production, 

 which has stamped it the " Car of' 

 Social Prestige.' 



Our latest models are too dis- 

 tinctively superior to appeal to 

 any but those who will always 

 buy the best. Any Rauch & Lang 

 agent will gladly demonstrate. , 



THE RAUCH & LANG CARRIAGE COMPANY 

 2303 West Twenty-fifth Street 



' - 





'ixtA Cj/^l 



$92.50 Our Price 

 for Next 30 Days! 



We now offer the Edwards "Steelcote" Garage 

 (1913 Model), direct-from-factory, for $92.50. But to 

 protect ourselves from advancing prices of steel, we 

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 record price for 30 days only. Just now we can 

 save you $35 or more. 



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 Ample room for largest car and all equipment. Made by one 

 of the largest makers of portable fireproof buildings. Prompt, 

 safe delivery and satisfaction guaranteed. Postal sent today 

 brings new 56-page illustrated Garage Book by return mail. 



THE EDWARDS MANUFACTURING CO. 

 605-655 Eggleston Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio 



(90) 



fRESH AIR AND PROTECTION! 



Ventilate your rooms, yet have your 

 windows securely fastened with 



The Ives Window 

 Ventilating Lock 



assuring you of fresh air and pro- 

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 and strong, inexpensive and easily 

 appiied. Ask your dealer for them 



SS-fsgf Catahgut B ardvjan Sptctalttti, fnt, 



THE H. B. IVES CO. 



NEW HAVEN. CONN. 



••lc Manufacturers 



Trial Four Months, over 400 pages. Ten Cents 

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FOUNDED IN 1895 



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The oldest, largest monthly American Collectors' Paper. 100 

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Superior, Nebraska, U.S.A. 



