22 
The Australasian Book of Poultry. 
slightly crackeu, and should on inspection often remove doubts as to their not having been supplied in good 
faith. It will be found that even to this day there are numbers of persons who cling with great faith to the 
old superstitions about the moon's influence on vegetation, as in olden times much planting and work 
generally was regulated according to the condition of the moon. It brings to mind the instance of one 
young man who had been taught the value of the moon's influence ; and he, concluded that, inasmuch as 
vegetation depended upon the increase and decline of the moon, it would be an excellent plan to run his 
incubator on the same principle. He, therefore, strictly obeyed the law of increase and decrease, regulating 
the moisture and ventilation accordingly. His experiments continued through several hatches, with failure 
in each instance. This was enough, to firmly convince him that the moon did exercise some influence 
on the hatch, but that he had erred in adding moisture and ventilation when the moon increased, when 
they should be lessened and vice versa, so he reversed his plans, and with but similar results. The 
fault was with the man, not the moon. There are numbers of others who still firmly believe that heavy 
thunder kills the chickens in the shells, proving that there is still something to learn in Poultry management ; 
but superstitious people are never very apt scholars, in fact we know of one Fancier, and a successful ex- 
hibitor at that, who religiously places a piece of hoop-iron underneath the straw or grass on which he sets his 
hens — this to prevent any evil effects from thunderstorms. Superstition dies hard, especially the old-time 
worn theory that "thirteen" eggs or odd numbers are necessary to secure fair success in hatching. 
