170 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
employed by Mr. P. the previous season, yet all 
went smoothly. His work was done in season, 
and well done ; although they were often away 
from his observation, there was no disposition 
shown to take advantage of his absence, and lie 
used to speak with pleasure of his “excellent 
hands.” Yet he never was heard to scold, but 
often to praise, and if fault was found, the offender 
alone knew of it. This we apprehend was one 
secret of his success. He remembered that they 
were men as well as “ help ”—and as a man he 
knew that appreciation is one of the highest 
stimulants to exertion, and that fault-finding in 
presence of others, sours the feelings and dis¬ 
heartens from effort. The man who takes as 
much pains to find points to commend in those in 
his employ, as he does to discover their defects, 
will soon see the benefit, in cheerful readiness to 
work, and endeavors to please. Scolding never 
did any good. A man will listen if you tell him 
his faults, however plainly, if it be done with 
mildness and in private. 
Too many men pay but little regard to the phy¬ 
sical comfort of their “ help.” They are kept on 
the coarsest, sometimes the meanest fare. They 
are sent to sleep two or three in a room, often in 
the unfinished chamber of an outbuilding, and on 
beds fit only to do pennance upon. Then too, 
the men are not only kept at their work “ from 
early dawn ’til set of sun,” but one furrow more 
must be turned, or one swath more mowed after 
the full time of a day’s work is completed. Men 
are easily affected by what touches physical feel¬ 
ings. Generous fare—it need not be expensive 
—comfortable lodging rooms, ample noon rests, 
and prompt “ turning out” from the field at night, 
will be more than repaid by the cheerful spirit 
and “ working with a will,” which will be given in 
return. 
Another cause of much difficulty will be found 
in the whiskey jug or cider pitcher carried into 
the field. Although the men may for a time seem 
to do more by the use of this extra steam, 
experience has many times proved that strictly 
temperate men can better endure the severe la¬ 
bors of farm life; while seven-eighths of the quar¬ 
rels and collisions, which disgrace too many, 
otherwise peaceful, communities, originate from 
the use of alcoholic stimulants. 
A great point will be gained, if hired men can 
be brought to feel an interest in the success of 
the farm. Sometimes a good way to procure 
this, would be the offer of extra pay, provided the 
amount of the crops could be brought beyond the 
average yield, so that each would feel a personal 
interest in doing his work well. It would take 
very little calculation to show that several bushels 
per acre might be added to the product of each 
field, by better plowing and more careful cultiva- 
' lion of the growing corn or other crops. The 
subject is certainly worthy of careful considera¬ 
tion, for most farmers are, to quite an extent, de¬ 
pendent upon the labor of others. 
A Earner with “ So time to Read.” 
One of the many friendly subscribers who have 
kindly interested themselves in extending the cir¬ 
culation of the Agriculturist, gives us what he 
calls a text for a brief article, viz.: “All our last 
year’s subscribers, a club of twenty, have renewed, 
except one, who said ‘ he could ^iot find time to 
read.’ And this man, too, has a family of chil¬ 
dren growing up around him, whom he is educa¬ 
ting to the business of farming.” 
Our improvement upon this text shall be brief. 
Firstly. There are labor saving implements 
enough noticed each year in any respectable 
agricultural paper, to save much more than time 
sufficient to read not only a paper of this descrip¬ 
tion, but several books besides. Secondly. If the 
boys are educated to fanning by the process of be¬ 
ing kept at it early and late, with no interest in 
their business awakened by the facts and thoughts 
on the subject, which such a journal presents, 
some of these days, that man will want help o.n 
the farm, and his boys will be “ seeking their for¬ 
tune ” in some more inviting calling. Thirdly. 
The men who get their living by their wits as 
they call it, or who in plain words liveby swind¬ 
ling the ignorant, will most likely find at least one 
good customer in that neighborhood, and make 
him pay for his ignorance ten times as much as 
he refused to expend for information. Fourthly. 
“ Where there’s a will there’s a way ” and a man 
can find time for anything which he considers of 
sufficient importance; and also “ when there’s a 
wont there’s a way,” and there can be but little 
doubt that “ can’t find time ” is merely another, 
perhaps easier way to say “haven’t the dispos¬ 
ition.” 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Egg-Hatching Machines. 
The wonderful and interesting phenomenon of 
producing animal life by machinery, presents to 
the student of nature, a sight truly curious and 
beautiful. Many interesting facts have been dis¬ 
covered in the process of hatching by artificial 
means, and have been described with great min¬ 
uteness. By-means of the Eccaleobion and 
batching ovens, the chick is baked, as it were, into 
life. 
How astonishing that in the substance of an egg 
there should be the vital principle of an animated 
being! that all the parts of an animal’s body 
should be concealed in it, and require nothing 
but heat to unfold and quicken them ; that the 
whole formation of the chicken should be so con¬ 
stant and regular, that the same changes will 
take place in the generality of eggs at exactly the 
same time ; that the chicken, the moment it is 
hatched, is heavier than the egg was before. 
But even these are not all the wonders in the 
formation of the bird from the egg; there are 
others altogether hidden from our observations 
and of Which, from cur very limited faculties, we 
must ever remain ignorant. 
The first notices we have of hatching chickens 
artificially without the aid of hens, are to he found 
in the works of Aristotle and Pliny. The latter 
mentions that the Roman Empress, Livia “hatch¬ 
ed an egg by carrying it about in her warm 
bosom and this probably gave origin to the 
device of late, to lay eggs in some warm place, 
and to make a gentle fire underneath of small 
straw or light chaff, to give a kind of moderate 
beat ; but evermore the eggs must be turned by 
man or woman’s baud both night and day, and so 
at the same time they looked for chickens and 
had them.” 
In the hatching of chickens, as in most other 
things, nature is the best guide. Th.e hen if left 
to herself, finds some dry, warm, sandy hedge or 
bank, in which to deposit her eggs, forming her 
nest of moss, leaves, or dry grass. In this way 
the warmth is retained in the nest for the few 
moments she devotes to her hurried and scanty 
meal. In imitating nature, in a degree, or ap¬ 
proaching that end, we would advise the adoption 
of putting in the bottom of the nest a sufficient 
quantity o-f dry sand and grass, moss, or cut straw. 
For hatching, and to have the eggs productive, 
they must be fresh, and must not be exposed to 
noxious effluvia or moisture. Those intended for 
incubation should always be gathered with more 
care than if merely to be employed for aliment. 
The art of hatching by artificial means, has 
been extensively practiced in Egypt and China, 
from an unknown period of time. In the former 
place immense numbers of eggs are hatched by 
heat in ovens or mammels and officers are 
appointed by government to superintend the pro¬ 
cess, and receive a part of the produce as pay. 
As there is no prospect of any of our country¬ 
men entering into the business of the Egyptian 
method, we will not detain the reader by a de¬ 
scription of these ovens ; others and less expen¬ 
sive have been adopted. The French have' made 
many experiments, particularly the celebrated 
naturalist and French philosopher, M. Reaumur, 
who made a number under the immediate atten¬ 
tion of the French King, and published the results 
in a treatise of five hundred pages with plates. 
It states the requisite heat to be about 90° F. 
Oliver de Serres, describes a little portable 
oven of iron or copper, in which eggs were ar¬ 
ranged and surrounded with feathers, and cov¬ 
ered with soft cushions, heat having been com¬ 
municated by means of four lamps, but lie says 
that it was more curious than useful. 
The incubation of chickens by hot water, is said 
to be the invention of M. Bonnemain, of Paris. 
His apparatus consisted of a boiler; a box for 
hatching the eggs; a cage or coop for rearing 
the chickens; tubes for circulating the hot water 
passing through the hatching box. 
A method somewhat similar to Bonnemain’s, 
called “ Eccaleobion,” was put in operation a 
few years since, in London, and exhibited at 25 
cents each person. It was a large oblong box or 
case, divided into eight parts, each one used for 
hatching the eggs. The bottom of these boxes 
was lined with cloth, and covered with eggs, lying 
at a little distance from each other. There was 
a dish of water in each compartment to preserve 
a proper degree of temperature and moisture to 
the air in the divisions. 
In 1844, we visited an egg-hatching machine, 
exhibited in full operation, in the city of New- 
York, bringing out the little chickens with all the 
punctuality of an old hen. This machine was an 
English invention, probably the one just noticed. 
In outward appearance, it forms an oblong box 
about five feet in length, three feet in width, and 
four and-a-half feet high, divided into eight com¬ 
partments, with narrow glazed doors. The 
floors of these apartments arc covered with flan¬ 
nel on which the eggs were laid. The divisions 
inside are of tin, probably hollow, to contain hot 
water or steam which is generated in a small cyl¬ 
inder standing in the center of the machine, and 
extending through the top of the box, and having 
a small pipe to conduct off the smoke. It was 
heated with charcoal. In one end we noticed a 
thermometer partly immersed in the water, by 
which the temperature could be noted. 
The apparatus latterly employed for the purpose 
of incubation has been described under the name 
of “ Eccaleobion,” “ Potolokian,” and “Hydro- 
Incubator.” The former was an ingenious con¬ 
trivance for hatching chickens by heated air. Ac 
cording to Mr. Bucknell, the English inventor and 
proprietor of this machine, which some years ago 
attracted great attention, the Eccaleobion posses¬ 
sed a perfect and absolute command over tempera¬ 
ture from 300° Fahrenheit to that of cold water, 
so that any substance submitted to its influence 
was uniformly acted upon over its whole surface, 
at any required intermediate degree within the 
above range, and such heat was maintained unal¬ 
tered without trouble or difficulty, for any period. 
During the exhibition of this instrument it was 
