18 
The Australasian Book of Poultry. 
If the eggs are to be placed in an incubator, the fresher they are the better. On no account should 
stale eggs be placed in a machine. The eggs should not be more than lo to 14 days old, but if under a 
week old will turn out much better, the reason for this being that the vigor of the germ deteriorates the 
longer the eggs are kept, and is in stale eggs often quite dead, and they are useless for incubation. 
To manage the sitting hen is at times most vexatious ; but a little patience and perseverance will, in 
most cases, overcome the difificulty. Where a few chickens are reared — say from 20 to 50 each year — it will 
be found that the best plan to follow is the natural system of incubation — by purchasing a few broody hens 
for this purpose, if not obtainable in the home yard when recjuired. In the first place, select the best- 
shelled eggs, free from roughness or unevenness, and reject all misshapen ones, and at the same time if it is 
possible to choose the eggs from the best birds, whether common hens or high-class poultry, the trouble thus 
taken will be well repaid — much better results likely to be arrived at than from eggs set indiscriminately. 
The safest and wisest course, and one fraught with less danger or risk of breakages caused by the birds 
quarrelling with one another, is to set the hen in a perfectly secluded spot, or in a house by herself, where she 
can come off at will and dust herself, and at the same time obtain food and water, as the less hens are 
meddled with the better while incubating. On a small scale or where few chickens are required yearly, this 
can be easily managed ; but on a more extensive one, where a number of hens have to be accommodated at 
or about the same time, separate nest boxes will be the most advantageous. In the former instance, if a hen 
can be given a small house — say 6 feet by 3 feet — where no interruption is possible from the other birds, a 
spot in one corner of the house hollowed out of the ground (presuming that the floor is composed of earth 
or sand), with a couple of bricks placed at right angles with one another, to prevent the surrounding earth 
from falling in, and to keep the nest in shape. In the place scooped out place some sifted wood ashes, then 
a few handfuls of crushed or broken straw, enough to make a snug and comfortable nest, then sprinkle the 
straw and surroundings with a solution of Calvert's No. 5 Carbolic Acid, a teaspoonful to a quart of water, to 
act as a warning to insect pests that their presence is by no means desirable. Place the eggs in the nest in 
number according to the size of the hen, and which she can completely cover, and if the eggs are fertile, bar 
accidents, a good hatching may be anticipated. It is necessary to keep food and water always handy to the 
hen, sound grain, such as Indian Corn, which on her own inclination she can obtain without hunting around, 
though it will be found that in an occasional instance a hen is such a close and attentive sitter that she will 
not come off the nest. Should this be the case, the hen should be gently lifted off daily to feed, taking care 
that no eggs are caught between her wings and body. This allows an opportunity of cleaning the nest if it is 
fouled, and the hen's absence from the eggs for a short period each day has a highly important and beneficial 
effect in allowing fresh air ingress through the shell of the egg, which naturally invigorates the chicken in 
embryo. Straw is mostly used to form the nest ; but our experience, tested by many years' experimenting 
decidedly leans towards fresh-cut green grass as being much better and sweeter, and not as likely to en- 
courage the development of parasites, besides when green having a moistness which is most desirable. We 
do not mean sloppy, wet grass taken from or near a water-course, but grass which, as a rule, is plentiful 
enough in most locations, growing along side fences. In the tropical weather often experienced here sifted 
wood ashes alone are quite the best bottom for the nest, and we have proved this on many occasions. Nests 
thus made, and used in the very hottest weather, will be found a good guard against insect pests. The 
latter are difficult to cope with in warm localities, and we have noticed at different times instances in which 
the nests were swarming with parasites through carelessness and neglect. How can it reasonably be ex- 
pected that a hen, no matter how good a sitter she may be, could hatch the eggs labouring under the 
disadvantages stated ? So that a little care and attention given to the proper supervision of the hen while 
sitting will save many a valuable brood. 
As hens vary to a great extent in size and length of limb, it will be found that some require much 
larger and roomier nests than others. For a large hen — such as a Brahma, Cochin, or Malay — about 
16 inches square inside measurement will be required; but for Game or the smaller varieties, about 
12 inches square inside measurement will be sufficient. In all instances the hen must have sufficient room 
