Rocky Mountain husbandman., 1880-05-13
!GQne noulhp gard.
ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION.

For many centuries various methods have
been in use for hatching eggs by artificial
heat. The Chinese and E"yplians used
large ovens. The Arabs made use of fer
menling horse manure, and upon this latter
method a patent was given in England
hundred years ago. and in this country Il
few years since. Commodore Perry in his
report OF his voyage to Japan, gives care
fully detailed account of the plan he saw
practiced here. which, in brief, consisted in
having large rooms, with shelves covered
with thick. spongy paper on which the eggs
We're placed and then covered with the same
kind of paper, the whole kept at high tenn
rrra!nre. tlliS room being only used during
the last days Of incubation; the earlier stages
being conducted i'll Il ecraratr room. the eggs
being put into barrels projected from chan
ges of temperature by layers Of heavy paper.
the heat given by charcoal furnaces. But
to American invention during the past ten
years has been due, the perfection Of the in
ru'Mto1. There are now half 4 dozen egg
hatcling machines, which. with care and
proper use, give rs coed results as we can
obtain from hens. These will be more clear
" understood. by remembering that we are
making Il machine which is to take the place
of nature in tile hatcl'ig Of eggs A hen
That steals away to some quiet fence corner
and makes her nest on tile ground, as Il gen
eral rule comes off with larger and health
ier brood OF chickens than under any other
conditions Fourteen or fifteen days will be
required by her to lay the nine or ten eggs
she proposes to sit upon. Every day when
she adds an egg to her nest, she turns those.
she has already laid, and by the warmth of
Of the body revives the germ of the eggs.
Now. will, our artificial hen, where we
follow nature the closest we obtain tile best
results. 10 gin at the beginning: the hen
that stole her nest probably had her liberty
and a wide range, therefore was in II good
condition of body, and her eggs were we'll
formed and healthy. So with our eggs to
be used in The incubator. they must be OBJ
tanned from strong. healty stock. which have
been properly mated. Where three or four
hundred eggs are to be set, 1t would be ne
cessary perhaps to wait for some time in or
der to obtain The number wanted. Fifteen
days after al egg is laid is as long as il
should be kept. This is the time given by
our hen. These eggs should be turned over
every day, thus preventing the yelk from
settling TO the shell. IF it does. when heat
is applied aud the chicken begins to form.
the yelk remains on one side OF the egg, and
when turned. receives one day too much and
the next day to" little heat, aud the result
is failure. The eggs, before setting, should
be stored in some place where the tempera-
ture is even and not too dry
So much for the eggs. that we are to set;
now to return to the incubator itself. 10
furnish a close imitation of nature is the
secret of the machine. The heat given by
the hen is on top of the eggs; so the heat, by
whatever means furnished, must be applied
to the top of the eggs, and not, as in some
of the earlier machines, to the bottom and
sides. This heat must be regulated SO as to
remain at q uniform temperature Of 1919
and during the last days of incubation, when
the chick begins to breath through the lungs
may be reduced % or3e Our hen. by
making her nest OH the ground, shows us
that a certain amount of moisture is neces
sary, so this must be provided In the incu-
bator, which is usually done by having sllal-
low trays OF water under the eggs The last
requisite is pure air, for upon the third day
OF incubation the blood of the chicken begins
to be aerated by passing through respir-
atory membrane, which is attached to the
shell of the egg, and pure air becomes the
life of the chicken. Thus heat Oh top of the
eggs, pure air and certain amount OF moist
ure, are the essentials for success. In our
best American incubators the heat is sup
piled by ii lamp OH tile outside, which keeps
IL system oil pipes or ii ilat-coveied pan of
water placed Il few inches above the eggs,
at the required temperature. The heat is
controlled by self-acting machinery, which
opens ventilator when the thermometer,
lying on the top of the eggs, marks 104 de-