The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1877-06-30
An EccaleObiOn.

loving account OF the process of preparing
machine-made hens for hungry world:
The artificial Matching house is a two
and-a-half story building, connected d.
rectly with great breeding house." a
long pitch-roof greenhouse, where plants
are raised and the newly-hatched chick
ems are bred. The basement of the hatch
ing house Is divided into store.rooms,
boiler-room, an electric battery apart
ment ETC., while the rooms above are
occupied by the attendants who live in
the house. The second floor is taken up
mainly by the incubating apartment and
the chambers connected with it. Mount
ing the stairs which lead to the second
floor the reporter came to a chamber on
one side of which rows of electric lars
were ranged, and on the other long
iron case, resting on the floor and hold
ing number of shallow drawers filled
with eggs. Beneath the case two large
gas-jets were burning, and the eggs were
being gradually heated as the hot air
rose through the wire netting which
formed the bottom of the pans or draw
ers. A deft-fingered woman was taking
the drawers of eggs out of the case and
carrying them into the main incubating
chamber
ID "Wait afew''moments, she said, land
ANVIL show you how we hatch out the
chickens" After several drawers of
eggs had been hastily shifted into like
drawers in the main apartment she pro-
fessed herself ready to begin.
Here are the boxes of eggs Just as
they are brought from the depot, for
though we have more than 1900 fowls
on the farm they do not furnish tenth
of the eggs which we use. Now come
and | will show you how we test the
eggs, which are sent to US from all
quarters, to see if they are vitalized."
She led the way to another chamber
opening off the main room, which was so
arranged as to be darkened at will, like
the closet of photographer. A single
Argand lamp was burning in the dark
ness, sending its light through an egg
shaped opening in dark metallic shade
A heap of eggs lay on a shelf in the
closet, and taking up one she placed it
in the opening. Instantly the egg was
turned in color to a brilliant red, the
strong light piercing through it and re-
vealing every part. She turned the egg
round slowly, and small dark spot was
seen close to the shell. Yes, that egg
is good, she said, for you can see the
dark spot, and all eggs without this
mark we do not try to hatch out, for we
know they have not been vitalized,"
Then bringing egg after egg from differ
ent drawers in the incubating-room, in
various stages of development, she
showed with the brilliant light how the
black point grew larger and larger until
it assumed well-defned form, put out
legs and wings and head, and lay within
its covering of shell q perfect chicken
Even when the egg had only been incu-
bated few days, the tiny creature with
in would move itself to and fro as if dis
liking the unwonted light and heat. One,
a tritie older, bobbed its little head, act
ually turning in the surrounding liquid
CHOW come into the main room and
will show you the process of Matching"
The incubating apartment is about
twenty feet square, protected by double
sets of windows, and containing eight
large inCubators or hatching-cascs. Each
| of these contains eight tiers of shallow
egg-drawers, one above another, and
they will all hold when filled, nearly
5000 eggs. Over each of these tiers hot
water pipes are placed, which send out a
steady heat from above upon the eggs in
the trays beneath. The gas for heating
the water is manufactured by large
machine in the basement. Burning gas
! Jets beneath each incubator heat the
water in the pipes, and, by an automatic
arrangement, whenever the heat rises
above a fixed point the supply of gas is
diminished, the Jets burn less brightly,
and the water in the pipes is allowed to
cool to the desired point. When that
point is reached the supply of gas is re-
stored, and the heating process goes on
as before. An electric battery commu-
nicates with the incubatOrs, and any I'M.
due variation of heat is announced to
the attendants through indicators. When
the eggs are near the point of Matching
the animal heat evolved from them is so
considerable that the temperature of the
air in the drawers is affected materially.
AS even slight variations of temperature
are injurious to the eggs, it is sometimes
necessary, in spite Of the automatic ar
rangement for regulating the heat, to
take out the drawers and allow the eggs
TO cool; and this is done by an attendant
on the striking of an electric bell con-
nected with each case. The cases are
numbered, and the number of the super
heated case is shown by an indicator on
the wall of an adjoining room.
When the reporter was in the room the
bells were ringing quite vigorously, and
the woman in charge was frequently
obliged to stop her explanations in order
to pull out the trays White, brown and
notified eggs lay side by side in the
drawers, and the attendant showed how,
under the equable heat of from 100 deg.
to 10 deg, the chicks were gradually
formed. Upon breaking young egg an
oblOng body was seen floating in the
liquid, and showing in its center little
piston shaped heart, which kept on beat
ing with the regularity of tri p-hammer.
From another drawer, an egg in a more
advanced stage was taken out and
opened, and the growing chicks were
gradually disclosed in this way till from
the last incubator lively young ones were
pulled out which were picking off the
last fragments of shell from their bodies,
and uttering an incessant Peep, peepn'
After their confinement of twenty