241 
viously mentioned in the Journal) of poor hatches is that the set- 
ting hen does not cool the eggs enough. Some hens will not come 
off the nest every day if left to themselves, others come off for 
five minutes or so, then rush back. Twenty minutes is the mini- 
mum for the proper cooling of the eggs and in this climate half 
an hour even up to one hour, we find, rather does the eggs good, 
perhaps somewhat from the superior vitality of the hen, which is 
fed, refreshed and invigorated by an hour's exercise. 
Incubator Chickens. — We should like to be able to say that 
eggs hatched by the natural hen process produce chickens of more 
abounding vitality than those hatched by an incubator. But the 
only lot of chickens we have hatched by means of an incubator for 
some years were strong and lively from the day of hatching and 
were the most active chickens we have had — but they were 
mothered by a turkey within a day after hatching. We had a 
suspicion, however, when we regularly used an incubator and 
had chickens hatched by hens at the same time, that the hen 
hatched chickens were better layers and made better stock birds. 
This has never been proved, however, that we know of. 
Water. — The hottest weather of the year has come. For 
profit's sake, if not for the sake of the hens, see that there is plenty 
of fresh water set down for your fowls in shady corners out of the 
sun. Plenty of poor results with fowls are caused by not pro- 
viding a supply of cool water. 
STOCK NOTES. 
(Journal of Jamaica Agricultural Society.) 
THE DUAL PURPOSE COW. 
It is still held by some contemporaries that there is not such an 
animal as a dual purpose cow — that a cow must either be ‘Tne to 
milk” or for beef. But that is because they have had no experience 
of the skill it takes to produce the real dual purpose cow. The 
cow of extreme dairy type and the cow of extreme beef type are 
easy to produce, but the herd of cows that are big and fleshy and 
yet can produce as much milk as a good herd of the extreme type 
of dairy animals, is the result of higher skill and judgment ex- 
pended than on the other types. All types are profitable under 
certain circumstances, and the farmers in England who use the 
dairy Shorthorn and the dairy Red Poll, know what they are 
