116 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Ava., 1902. 
leaves her nest for a good period every day, and we must copy the old hen as 
near as possible. Be sure to turn eggs twice every day, commencing on third 
day ; discontinue cooling and turning on eighteenth day for hen eggs and 
twenty-fifth day for duck eggs. Always run machine at 102 to 103 degrees, 
and be careful not to let temperature run down when hatching, as it causes 
chicks and ducks to stick in the shell. Do not forget to cool down, as it makes 
chicks and ducklings strong. When life begins to generate in eggs it produces 
animal heat, increasing as the hatch progresses, thus the heat has a tendency to 
run up in machine ; watch carefully and regulate accordingly. Test your eggs 
on fifth day, throwing out all unfertile ones. We test eggs by means if a 
small egg-tester supplied with each incubator; if a good one, all we do is to 
light our tester (it burns oil), hold egg to opening on one side, look through, 
and by so doing we may see the germ. A good fertile egg, on fifth day, seen 
through tester, shows a little germ for all the world like a red spi7er, thus— 
In fact, it is quite easy to test in a dark room with merely the aid of a candle. 
Eggs are sometimes quite clear and unfertile, from which no life whatever may 
be gained; then there are some which show a trace of life, but the embryo 
dies almost at its first appearance; there are others a little stronger which 
maintain life for a few hours or days and die; then some live to time of 
hatching and die trying to liberate themselves from the shell, and why ? all 
through difference in vigour. 
Moisture is one of the main things in incubation, and amount of moisture 
given or to give is always indicated by size of air-cell, and the air-cell, in my 
estimation, is a safe criterion to go by. With a wide opening of ventilators the 
air moves through the machine quickly and carries moisture out, and making air- 
cell larger with a small opening of ventilators, the air moves slowly in incubator, 
thus we have less drying-down propensities and a smaller air-cell. If you notice 
the air-cell is getting too large, close your ventilators a little; moisture may 
be added at any time according to air space, but I very seldom put any 
moisture in until the last three or four days, and sometimes not until the 
chicks chip, when, if the stripping or inner membrane of egg is dry, I add 
moisture at once heated to about 100 degrees. There is moisture enough in 
an egg to hatch it under ordinary circumstances and in wet weather ; so if we 
have our machine in a damp place you will not need moisture at all; even if 
we give no moisture the chick may drown in shell through excess of fluid, 
caused by not enough ventilation. My idea is not to put any moisture in 
until air-cell is getting too large. There is no danger of drying up the eggs 
ina day orso. Many people fancy moisture is supplied to soften the shell; but 
not so, it is merely supplied to soften the membrane and prevent air-cell from 
getting too large. I have set a hen and an incubator at same time and taken 
particular notice of both; have worked my machine as near as possible to the 
hen’s method and had good results. I have experimented with natural and 
artificial means and found out a great deal re “ Artificial Incubation,” and 
