The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1880-08-13
ARTIFICIAL CHICKEN HATCHING.

Eno hennefy ON tne th-httsaues very
Much Like an Improvement on Ma
ture.
Directly opposite Yonkers, on the top
Of the Palisades, where the trees which
fringe their SUBMITS look like bushes
from the river, there is large hen
merry" where chickens are Matched arti-
icially.
From the road (the Boulevard" the
Palisades jewellers calls i), the visible
and working part of this establishment
looks exactly like large conservatory.
That Is where thousands of chickens are
being Matched. But the Matching room
is not much larger than a good sized
clothes closet and Is situated in one
corner OF the neat, unpretending dwell
ing which faces the road. In this closet
IL. 900 or $4,000 eggs are being incubated
at the same temperature as that fur
nished by the natural mother. The eggs
in square. fiat racks holding thirty or
forty each, are placed one rack above
the other In grooved frame work, and
are slidder in and out at pleasure.
The heat is regulated to the proper
temperature by an electric apparatus
which rings bell when it falls below
or goes above q given point. The eggs
In their racks are taken out and turned
and cooled once day. Some people
are not aware that the setting hen turns
her eggs daily in order, possibly, tina.
both sides shall receive an equal degree
of incubation. At all events, this Is rs
near rs human beings can arrive at the
reason. But turn them she does, and
it's wonderful thing that she does it.
Not only does she turn her eggs, but
she leaves her nest at certain time to
seek food. during, which period the
eggs cool. So IN artificial Matching the
eggs are likewise taken out daily and al
lowed a short time to cool.
After the eggs have been set artifcially
eight or ten days the manager examines
each one to see how it Is getting on. He
carries each egg to q box, with burn
ing candle inside and hole on the out
side. He holds each egg to the hole, the
room being darkened. The egg is thus
rendered translucent-and its internal
condition Is pretty clearly revealed. If
the egg means business there will be a
line near its larger end, and the fluid
within will seem 10 have sunk down to
q level with this line. In fact, it's this
shrinkage which causes the line. By the
tenth day the embryo chick may be seen
as q small black object propellfng itself
like black pug In the eggs interior
This spectacle Is very interesting, and it
would be pleasurable to prolong ones
investigation, only the vapor bath heat
of the dark closet where the examination
is prosecuted Is not favorable to the
peace Of mind OF any .one wearing a
starched shirt-collar, at least II ones de.
sires incline to the perpendicularity Of
that collar.
The chicks last Matched from n rack
OF eggs are the feeblest, and one or two
OF them generally die.
The newly incubated broods are first
placed in the glass structure, resembling
a long conservatory. They live in pens,
are lines Of boxes, in which grain is
sprouting. This serves as part of the
chicken feed. Several thousand peeping
chickens abide in this building, certain
degree OF heat being maintained artifi-
ciAlly. In the rear Is still longer
structure, containing some large chick
sen. almost ready for market.
In another building are the devices
for the artidcial fatening Of fowl. Old
hens are telhered In a series of circular
pens which turn on q perpendicular axis
Each old hen Ia fastened by the leg in a
special stall. The object Is to make
them at as much as possible and gain
as much flesh as possible in as short a
time as possible. To do this their food,
in semi-Auid state, Is pumped into
their crops through flexible tube. As
each old hen Ii by the revolving rack
brought face to face with the operator,
the stomach pump Is put In her throat
and an assistant at the machine pumps
her full, and the same process is repeat
cd % soon as digestion has done Its
work. About twenty days are required
thus to fatten an old hen for market.
It's French device, Of course.
Formerly In the French fowl marts the
fowl fatteners did the business by filling
their own mouths with mush from the
tub and blowing the mixture down the
fowls throat.
In one coop an accommodating roos-
ter, who had taken prizes at fowl
show, was seen with his back almost
denuded of feathers picked off by the
hens: Hens will do this for the sake Of
the tiny drop of blood at the end of the
quill which penetrates the skin, and
roosters will submit to this sacrifice.
Hens are fond of blood, and when once
they get taste OF 1t in this way they
never cease the practice. It destroys,
however, the dignity OF ROSTERS bear
ing to see him thus barebacked. with
his tall feathers sticking out.-Neso
York Graphic.