168 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
Home-Made Incubator. 
When we receive two or three letters by each 
mail, from widely separated parts of the country, 
all asking essentially the same question, we are 
sure either that some extravagant and widely 
quoted “ item ” is going the rounds of the press, 
or that some widely-circulated advertisement 
makes extravagant claims concerning the subject. 
Our frequent letters of late have asked us to give 
directions for making a “Home-made Incubator.” 
These inquiries evidently result from an advertise¬ 
ment which proposes to send, for three 3-cent 
stamps, directions for constructing an incubator. 
The directions, far from clear, show how to build a 
box, the air in which is heated by lamps. The box 
is encased in several inches of saw-dust. Thatsueh 
an affair will not hatch eggs, we will not say, as 
with constant and proper care, and a steady sup¬ 
ply of heat, eggs may be incubated successfully in 
various ways. They have been hatched in manure 
heaps, in mud ovens, by carrying them about the 
person, etc., and might possibly be hatched in such 
a box as this. One wishes in an incubator an ap¬ 
pliance that will save time and trouble, and will, 
with proper attention at stated times, turn out a 
fair share of chicks with little labor. 
The advertisement proposes to tell how to make 
an incubator, but not how to use it, and the “ di¬ 
rections for making” state that “full and explicit 
directions for managing it ” are given in a book. 
Besides this, the book gives “ full and complete 
directions for making a brooder or artificial moth¬ 
er.... with which you can raise chickens in the 
coldest weather, and without which you cannot 
raise them at all.” Does this incubator man do the 
fair thing when he, for three stamps, tells one how 
to make a “ hatchery,” and then charges $2 for a 
book to show how to use it? This $2 book is a 
cheap-looking affair, of just 29 small pages, seven 
of which are taken up by repeating the “ directions 
for making ” the incubator, already given on the 
sheet. These same incubator people state that 
they do not wish money sent them in postal orders, 
“ as they are subject to many mistakes and to much 
delay in cashing.” When parties speak thus of 
one of the very best and safest methods of sending 
money, people are warranted in suspecting that 
there is some reason for avoiding the publicity 
their use requires. There is so much that is, to say 
the least, unsatisfactory, about this home-made 
incubator, that we do not wonder that persons who 
have had their attention directed to the matter, and 
finding little help from the “directions” or the 
“book,” appeal to us to aid them in making a 
“home-made incubator.” At first, we replied to 
these letters separately, but they soon were too 
numerous for that, and we now reply to all. There 
are to our knowledge about twenty different styles 
of incubators, each of which is the result of much 
thought, careful experiment, and only perfected 
after many trials. Each one of these—and no 
doubt a great many more—is patented,—not the 
hatching by artificial heat, but the various con¬ 
trivances by which the heat is applied, qnd in some 
cases, an incubator, as improvements have been 
added, has several patents. We could not, of 
course, give directions for making any one of these 
patented incubators. If we had nothing else to do, 
it is possible that, after many trials and failures, 
and much experimenting, we could make an incu¬ 
bator that would work; but in doing this, it is 
most probable that we should infringe the patents 
of one or several of the score or more of inventors. 
Were directions for making such an incubator pub¬ 
lished, every one who followed these, in construct¬ 
ing one, would be subject to several suits for in¬ 
fringements. At present, we look upon a home¬ 
made incubator as entirely impracticable. Those 
before the public are often the result of years of 
careful experiment, and probably all of the leading 
kinds, properly managed, will do good work. We 
are quite sure that none of them, if carelessly used, 
and neglected, and left to run itself, is worth as 
much as the poorest old hen that ever clucked. We 
do not advise any one to purchase an incubator, 
unless he can follow the directions to the letter, and 
give it all needed attention. This is a matter in 
which several neighboring farmers might unite 
in bearing the outlay, and could arrange with some 
one to operate it on joint account. We do not, 
with our present knowledge, encourage amateur 
incubator building. 
How to Make your own Brooms. 
The culture of broom corn is simple. An airy 
shed will answer as a place to dry it, and a board 
and an ordinary currycomb will remove the seed. 
This is all the cleaning apparatus that is necessary 
to produce enough for a few dozen brooms. 
Every man or boy with a little skill and a few 
simple tools can make a broom. The apparatus 
here shown consists of a rope, long enough to reach 
from a rafter, fig. 1, to a stout board, about six 
feet long, near the floor. This rope should be 
strong enough to bear the weight of a heavy man. 
A half or three-fourths-inch rope will be sufficient, 
and a coating of hard soap will make it work easier. 
A clamp, fig. 2, consists of two pieces of hard¬ 
wood (white oak is best), each 21 feet long, 2inches 
thick, and 4 inches wide, with a i-inch bolt, 8 inches 
long, a, through the center of the wooden pieces. 
Two liard-wood pegs, 8 inches long, fit l-inch 
holes at b, b, these holes being from 6 to 8 inches 
from the bolt to regulate the width of the brooms 
while in the clamp. A wrench turns the nut at a. 
The needle is 8 inches long, with a flattened 
point, and an eye large enough to admit large 
twine. These, with a strong knife, a mallet, a few 
small nails, broom handles, and the necessary 
twine, complete the outfit. 
A sufficient quantity of the broom corn for a 
broom, about one pound and a quarter, should be 
tied into a bundle ; the small and crooked in the 
middle, the fine and straight outside—make the 
brush ends as even as possible. If kept in a cellar 
or other damp place over night, it will work more 
readily. Make a turn in the rope as in fig. 3, and 
in this place the bundle of broom corn. Be sure 
the rope passes around at the point you wish to tie 
with the twine. Several inches of stem may be be¬ 
tween this and the brush, particularly in short corn, 
as so much may thus be gained in the length of the 
broom. By putting the person’s weight upon the 
board, the rope will compress the bundle. Ro¬ 
tate the bundle, repeating the pressure, rapidly, and 
compress the mass into the size required. Have 
the twine ready. Make a small loop at one end, 
and a large one about four feet from the end, to be 
held by the feet. Place the small loop around a 
stem, a, fig. 4, and pass it between the ends of the 
6tems to the opposite side of the bundle, b. With 
the thumb, hold the twine at b, pass around to c, 
and over the first twine, b, at every turn, until you 
have completed eight or ten turns. Cut the twine, 
leaving six or eight inches, which you pass around 
the last turn of twine, as at e. The twiue may be 
cut here; but if it is carried, by means of the 
needle, through the bundle, passing between the 
last two turns of twine, as at/, and out at a, on the 
other side, it will be more secure. Two bundles 
thus tied can be placed in the clamp, fig. 2, to be 
sewed. The wooden pegs can be adjusted to the 
size of the broom—wider, of course, for the 6eam 
nearest the brush end. By turning the burr, a, 
sufficient pressure will be given to produce the de¬ 
sired flattening. A loop of twine is passed around 
the brush ate, and the free end, a yard or more 
long, by means of the needle, is used for sewing. 
The manner of passing the twine back and forth is 
shown in fig. 5, a to b. The twine is taken once 
around the loop at b, and then passed, by means of 
the needle, from b to c, where it is cut close, this, 
being sufficient to secure the end. The bundle may¬ 
be put into the clamp aud sewed before it is broken 
with the rope, as in figure 1, or tied with twine, 
as in figure 4. After being tied and sewed, 
the broom :s ready for a handle, which should 
have an evenly tapering point, about four inches, 
long. If the handle is pointed straight, and 
inserted into the center of the cut ends of the 
stems, there will be no trouble in driving it in 
properly. Keep the broom off the ground, and 
use a mallet or hatchet to strike the end of the 
handle. The point of the handle should extend 
past the upper sewing. Drive a nail through the 
twine into the handle at g, fig. 4. One at the op¬ 
posite 6ide may be necessary. Trim the stems 
neatly within half an inch of the twine that binds- 
them securely. Cut the brush end evenly, and a. 
cheap and durable broom is ready for use. 
The experience of a California stage proprietor 
in oiling wagons led me to try his plan for 
prolonging the usefulness and strength of wag¬ 
ons. He soaked in oil all the wood-work of his- 
vehicle before it was put together, and discovered 
that he had little need of repairs. The oil used 
is crude petroleum. I wash my wagons with it 
twice, even to the end of the pole. It is quick 
work with a good brush. An application once in 
six or eight weeks sufficed to save me from repairs, 
except of a slight character. I ascribe these results- 
to the oil preventing the wood from shrinking or 
swelling. The cost of crude oil is but a trifle, and. 
the application of it a very insignificant item com¬ 
pared with the cost of smith work and the increased 
durability of the wagon. Petroleum oil is better 
than other oils, because of its superior penetrating- 
character. K. 0. 
