VOL. XLVII. NO. 1992. NEW YORK, MARCH 31, 1888. 
PRICE FIVE CENTS. 
*2.00 PER YEAR. 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, In the year, 1888, by the Rural New- Yorker, 
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
LIGHT BRAHMAS. 
The picture shown at Fig. 74 is made from 
a photograph sent us by Mr. W. H. Todd, of 
Vermillion, Ohio. Some years ago the Light 
Brahmas enjoyed a genuine boom; while of late 
years Wyandottes and Plymouth Rocks have 
taken the lead so far as numbers are concern¬ 
ed ; the Light Brahmas still have many warm 
friends and are now gaining in popular favor. 
Some one has said that the Light Brahama is 
among poultry what the Short-horn is among 
cattle, and the comparison is a good one. This 
breed by reason of its small comb and short 
wattles is enabled to endure exposure without 
being subjected to frosted combs. This is a 
great advantage in cold countries. The Light 
Brahmas are also heavily feathered and are 
great eaters. The hens begin laying at eight 
months and, if properly fed, lay well at all 
seasons. The eggs are dark colored, selling 
better in the Boston market than in New 
York. Birds readily become fat. Light 
Brahmas are very attractive market fowls 
and they are exceedingly valuable for cross¬ 
ing upon other breeds. Their good qualities 
are quickly visible in a flock. 
- 4 » » 
THE HEN vs. THE INCUBATOR. 
FRED GRUNDY. 
SECOND PAPER. 
A properly managed 
hen ivill hatch a 
chick from every fer¬ 
tile egg in two con¬ 
secutive settings ivith- 
out falling off in flesh 
or condition; setting 
a. hen; treatment of 
the newly - hatched 
chicks; re-setting the 
hen ; chronic sitters 
the best incubators; 
illustrations of brood¬ 
er ; treatment of 
broodered chicks. 
A hen will not desire 
to sit until she is fat; 
then, if she is properly 
managed, she will sit six 
weeks and hatch two set¬ 
tings of eggs, and come 
off at the finish in better 
condition than will a 
p o o r 1 y-managed hen 
that has sat only three 
weeks. If she is placed 
in an exposed situation, 
or where other hens can 
annoy her, she will some¬ 
times stick to the nest 
and go without food or 
water for several days 
at a time, and, of course, 
rapidly become reduced 
in flesh. Loss of flesh in 
this manner means a 
diminished supply of 
heat to the eggs, and 
some of the embryos will 
be destroyed, and at the 
end of the term the hen 
will be as poor as a crow. 
But if she has the nest 
in a somewhat secluded 
place, where no other 
fowls can annoy her, she 
will, after two or three 
days, come off for food 
and water about once a 
day. And if she is so favorably situated that 
food and water can be kept within her 
reach at all times, she will eat and drink as 
she desires, lose very little flesh, keep up a 
full supply of heat, and when she does come 
off will return to the nest again in a very 
short time, and will hatch a strong, healthy 
chick from every fertile egg. Furthermore, 
she will hatch two settings of eggs as well as 
one, and come off with the last hatch in much 
better condition than a hen that has sat on an 
exposed nest only three weeks. In order to 
secure this desirable result uniformly, I use 
the “Safety” nest, and manage the details 
somewhat after the following manner: 
All of my nests are attached to the side of 
my poultry house, opposite the perches. 
When I find a hen has remained on the nest 
all night, I am satisfied that she wants to sit 
and will stick to business. I carefully lift 
her off, dust her with insect powder, line the 
nest with clean, short straw, that has been 
trampled under horses’ feet until it is beaten 
flat and soft. I put 17 eggs in it, place the 
hen in the entrance [to the nest and quietly 
retire. The following day I put two small 
cans in the farther corner of her box, fill one 
with water and the other with corn, and re¬ 
plenish as needed. In about a week I test the 
and remove all infertile ones—generally 
two or three out of 17. 
My sitting hens generally come off once a 
day, take a short run, pick a little sand and 
gravel and return to the nest. Not having to 
hunt for food and water, they rarely remain 
off the nest more than five minutes, and I am 
satisfied that this is one of the secrets of my 
success in obtaining full hatches of strong 
chicks in early spring when the weather is 
cold. 
I quietly remove the chicks as soon as 
hatched and dry and put them in a brooder. 
When all are out, I go at night and gently 
lifting the hen, remove the last chick, clean 
out the nest box, dust both it and the hen 
with insect powder, put in fresh straw and 
17 more eggs, which I have previously warm¬ 
ed in a brooder or by the fire, return the hen 
and she settles down to 21 more days of peace 
and quietness. 
Chronic sitters can be found in any neigh¬ 
borhood, anu most people are willing to sell 
them cheap. They are the best incubators in 
the world, even if they are fit for nothing else. 
When I get a good one I aim to keep her as 
long as she is useful. 
The brooder I use is shown in the sketch¬ 
es: F igs. 75 and 76 are side and end views, 
showing the arrangement of the interior. 
Fig. 77 is the shelf or partition the tank rests 
on, and Fig. 78 is the brooder complete. I 
make it 24 inches square, and 12 inches deep. 
1 ^ le tank is 16 inches square and 5 inches deep 
and it rests upon pieces of lath laid across an 
opening 14 inches square, cut in the center of a 
shelf or partition, as shown in Fig. 78, which 
is supported by cleats nailed to the sides of 
the box. The tank is packed with sawdust, 
as shown in Figs. 75 and 76. The hover cloth 
H is cut in pointed strips as' shown, and is 
tacked to these pieces of lath. As will be seen, 
there is an open space between the hover cloth 
and the sides, and as all the heat is in the cen¬ 
ter among the cloth the chicks naturally gath¬ 
er there instead of crowding into the corners. 
When the chicks are first put in the brooder 
the drawer D is placed on the cleats, as shown 
in Fig. 76, in order to get them close up to the 
tank and economize heat. After about 10 
days the drawer is slid iu on the bottom of 
the brooder, which gives much more room. 
When the drawer is on the cleats the open 
space beneath is closed by an inclined plane, 
as shown in Fig. 75. There are four one-inch 
holes, one near each corner, for ventilation. 
In Fig. 78 the door X is closed and fastened 
with a “button.” In the center of this door 
is a smaller one, Fig. 78, which is used when 
the weather is cold. It is fastened by the 
same button that holds the large door. In¬ 
stead of faucets, I use a straight tube, 
hemmed at the end and closed with a cork. 
During the first 10 days of the young chick’s 
life I draw off 1J^ gallon of water three times 
a day and replace with a like quantity boiling 
hot. Afterwards twice a day will do. When 
drawing off water I pull the cork out of the 
emptying tube first, then out of the filler. 
When enough has run out, I cork the filler, 
which cuts off the inflow 
of air and stops the.flow 
of water from the 
emptier; then I pop in 
the cork. I cover the 
bottom of the drawer 
with a fresh sheet of 
paper every day; it 
makes it easier to clean 
out. 
As soon as the chicks 
are large enough to keep 
themselves warm, I re¬ 
move them from the 
brooder and put them in 
a dry coop with a pr) 
tecting run attached— 
which will be describ¬ 
ed hereafter—;and give 
them the run of the gar¬ 
den. 
This brooder, like 
all others, must be kept 
inside of a building of 
some sort to work satis¬ 
factorily. Partition off 
a portion of the poultry 
house, or make a cheap 
shed on the south or east 
side of some other build¬ 
ing to put it in, if you 
have no chicken house. 
To prevent the chicks 
from straying away 
while small, make a 24 
by 40-inch run with 
boards six or eight inch¬ 
es wide, cover it with 
wire cloth or white mos¬ 
quito netting and set it 
close up in front of the 
brooder. 
Christian Co., Ills. 
Red Caps, Downies, 
Patagonians, Black 
Javas. These breeds we 
shall speak of in the near 
future. The Downies 
are a sport of Plymouth 
Rocks- the Patagonians 
a new breed of which we 
are not disposed to speak 
in very high terms. 
LIGHT BRAHMAS, From Ijife. TFig. 74, 
