POULTRY RAISING. 
110 
in shipping a vest of twenty-four hours is needed to enable them to 
assume a normal condition and to permit the germs to swing back in 
place before incubation begins. If the misplaced germs start to grow, 
a large percentage of them will die during the period of incubation. 
STORING EGGS FOR HATCHING. 
In general, eggs cannot be set the day they are laid. Place them 
in a room where the temperature is fairly constant and at about 60° F. 
Turn them carefully at least once a day. If the air is very dry, sprinkle 
the floor with water, or place a few pans of water in the room, other¬ 
wise there may be a rapid evaporation of moisture from the egg, leaving 
a big air cell in the large end of it. One can readily determine the 
amount of evaporation by marking the air cell while holding the egg 
in a ray of light passing into a darkened room and then examining it 
again in the same manner after a couple of days. There should be a 
very slow increase in the size of the air cell. Eggs intended for incuba¬ 
tion should be kept no longer than is absolutely necessary. Two weeks 
is about as long as it is safe to keep them, although with good care, 
under proper conditions, they may be kept longer. The fresher the egg, 
the more likely it is to hatch a good strong chick. Many farmers prac¬ 
tice setting the eggs from one day’s laying, which is not objectionable 
providing proper care has been exercised in sorting the flock to secure 
sufficient eggs of uniform size and color. 
When the hens all run together and the finest shaped eggs from the 
whole flock are chosen, increased egg yields cannot result, as the chances 
are that some of the hens that have been laying w^ell all the fall and 
winter are now ready to sit. Those that have not laid for months are 
the most likely to do so for a few weeks in the spring, and often produce 
fine large eggs, due, perhaps, to their long winter’s rest. The use of 
eggs from such hens can only result in deterioration of the flock. 
INCUBATION. 
NATURAL OR ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION. 
After selecting the eggs they must either be entrusted to liens or an 
incubator; this must be decided according to circumstances. If it is 
not the intention to keep many hens or raise early chicks, by using one 
of the heavier breeds of fowls, one can get along very well without an 
incubator. Some poultry raisers claim they can care'for a machine with 
less trouble and expense than the necessary hens, no matter what breed 
they may keep. One thing is certain, however, the machine will bring 
off chicks at any season of the year that may be desired, while one must 
wait until the hens get ready to sit. If Leghorns or other non-sitting 
breeds are kept, an incubator is an almost indispensable part of the 
equipment. Some individuals of non-sitting breeds may make good 
mothers, but so many of them cease sitting after the first few days 
that they are very unsatisfactory, as a rule. If individuals of other 
