i /4 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
March, 1915 
The best way to trim the wick 
is to rub off the charred part 
with a match or a cloth. A new 
wick should he used for every 
hatch. 
From the third day and until 
the eighteenth the eggs must be 
turned daily, and preferably 
twice—night and morning. If 
this is not done there is danger 
that the germ will come in con¬ 
tact with the shell, stick there 
and drv out. Turning does not 
mean that the position of the 
eggs must be directly reversed, 
but that it be changed somewhat. 
In general, they are rolled 
around in the tray with the 
hand. At the same time see that 
the eggs are so shifted about 
that they will have relatively 
different positions on the tray. 
Then, if there happens to he a 
variation of temperature in the 
egg chamber, all the eggs will 
develop alike. . 
While the eggs are out of the 
machine for turning they may 
also be cooled. It is probable 
that fair hatches can be obtained 
without cooling the eggs at all, 
but it seems to be a pretty well- 
established fact that stronger 
arid better chicks are obtained 
when cooling is practiced. If 
the methods followed by mother 
hen are to he considered any 
criterion, both cooling and turn¬ 
ing are important. Cooling tends 
to offset lack of ventilation and 
over-much heat in the machine. 
If by any mischance the tem¬ 
perature in the incubator should 
run several degrees higher than 
it ought to run, the damage 
which otherwise might resnlt 
may often be avoided by re¬ 
moving the eggs and cooling 
them for an unusually long time. 
Under normal conditions, five 
minutes are enough to cool the 
eggs at first, but the length of 
time may be extended to three- 
quarters of an hour' yvhen the 
three weeks are nearly over. 
Two rules may be of some 
value: return the eggs as soon 
as they feel cool when touched to 
the cheek, and return them to 
the machine as soon as the mer¬ 
cury has dropped to the 85-de- 
gree mark. Although the eggs 
may be turned twice a day, once 
is long enough to cool them, ex¬ 
cept for the time required for 
the turning process. Probably it 
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For the amateur an incubator capable of holding seventy eggs will suffice. 
This type heated by an oil lamp is simple of construction and easily handled 
Between the third and eighteenth days the eggs must be turned night and morn¬ 
ing. Roll them about gently on the tray so that each will develop thoroughly 
Test the eggs by placing them between the eye and a strong light. An infertile 
egg will appear clear, a dark spot, with radiating red veins, indicates life 
is needless to say that the door 
of the incubator should be kept 
closed while the eggs are being 
cooled. 
There is no occasion for 
alarm if the operator happens to 
forget the eggs and leave them 
out of the machine for an hour 
or more, especially during the 
latter part of the hatch. There 
is lots of life in a partly formed 
chick, and the egg may become 
thoroughly cold without doing 
serious harm, if a little extra 
heat is given afterwards. 
When the eighteenth day ar¬ 
rives, the eggs should be cooled 
and turned for the last time. 
Under normal conditions, with 
brown eggs in the machine, all 
the chickens should be out of 
their shells by the end of the 
twenty-first day. Chicks in white 
eggshells may emerge eighteen 
hours or more earlier. 
As a rule, the machine will do 
its best work if the door of the 
egg chamber is not opened after 
the eggs have been pipped until 
all the chickens are out of their 
shells. There may be a great 
temptation to help some of the 
struggling youngsters; in fact, 
the novice is pretty certain to 
feel that he is not doing his duty 
unless he aids the more back¬ 
ward chicks in escaping from 
their cells. Experience shows, 
however, that this is a mistake. 
Unless a chicken is strong 
enough to get out of its shell un¬ 
assisted it is not worth raising, 
and if the machine has been run 
properly, with an abundance of 
moisture, the chicks will fairly 
pop out of their shells, breaking 
in a ring around the middle. This 
is the desirable procedure; in 
point of fact, many hatches drag 
through several hours, often a 
whole day and longer. 
When ducklings are hatching 
it mav be worth while giving 
them a certain amount of assist¬ 
ance. The shells are very tough, 
and ducklings which I have 
helped into the world have 
seemed just as strong and lively 
after a few days as those which 
required no assistance. With 
chickens, though, it is better to 
keep the door closed until the 
hatch is over, although if the 
air inside seems very dry and 
the ventilation poor, the door 
may be kept open a crack by the 
