The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-04-17
INCUBAT0RS.
SOMETHING ABOUT EGG HATCH
ING BY MACHINERY.
Various Kinds Of Incubat ors-Dif-
ferent Methods of Supplying
Heat-Secrets of Success
full Chicken Raising.

are used may be gathered from the fact
that there are annually shipped from the
one little village of Hamilton, N. j.,
over 100, 1000 chickens for broiling, all
of which are Matched by incubators.
Speaking of incubators, Mr.. W. Brock
ner, of New York firm, said to Sun
reporter:
"Thcre are hundreds of patterns of
incubators. Some like one kind, and
swear by it; others do not like that
kind. but do like another kind. They
all have the general form of box, IL
which the eggs are placed and kept at a
uniform degree of temperature until
tney are Matched. But, of course, there
are many differences of detail. You
may buy an incubator for $15, or you
may get one for SIS. Some men will
have success with cheap box, while
others will fail with an expensive one.
"There have been about 5000 incu'
bators sold of the pattern known as
"The perfect hatcher 1t is al alright
boz, with glass doors. so that the opera
tions inside may be watched without
opening. The eggs are placed in pans.
say one Hundred eggs in tie box. vi
course they must be good eggs, and not
only good eggs, but eggs from breed
where the healthful proportion OF the
sexes has been preserved. 1t IS we'll
known that hen does not always hatch
out all the eggs she sits on. Sometimes
the farmer puts choice egg in the nest,
and. though the hen sits on it the same
as on the others, the farmer does not ex-
pect it to hatch, and he does not blame
the hen if she does not hatch it. Yet peo-
pie will put bad eggs into the incubator
and blame the incubator if they don't
hatch. The fact is that farmer IS
lucky if his hens hatch out more than
fifty per cent of the eggs they sit on. 1t
ia not unusual for an incubator to hatch
out seventy-fve per cent:
"There is generally belief that no
body can tell whether fresh eggs have
been impregnated so that they will
hatch. Only one man claims to tell, and
thcy do not believe he can do it. Prac-
tically, therefore, the eggs are taken on
! o risk, but the prec autioa should be OBJ.
seryed of using only eggs from brood
where there is at least one rooster to
every ten chickens.
''it takes about twentyone days to
hatch a batch of eggs in this incubator.
During this time the temperature should
be kept at about 102 degrees. This
means that the eggs should be at l02
degrees, and not the air. In order to
secure uniformity there is an automatic
apparatus which lets in cool air when
c;er the eggs are at higher tempera-
ture than 702 degrees.
"There arc different methods ofsup'
plying the heat. Some use ho. air. Some
use hot water, which is in an eadles:
pipe, and kept warm by lamp. There
is an arrangement for supplying fresh
ar and also for replacing the moisture.
There are various theories of the proper
amount of moisture that is DeSt adapted
to success. There mag be variation OF
two or three degrees of temperature
without danger. It is known that hen
often leares her nest for short time
without failing to.hatch, but she does
not stay out long enough to let her eggs
get cold. So it does no harm to open the
incubator occasionally to take out the
hatched chickens, or to put IN new eggs,
or to turn the eggs.
'tAlthough it IS not possible at first to
tel whether al egg is likely to hatch, it
is cas7 to see at the end of ten days in
the incubator whether the chick is form
ing. The eggs are then placed quickly
and carefully in the range Of q strong
light, and the experienced eye ca1
quickly detect whether the chick has
begun to develop. If it has not. the egg
/ is Considered of no use for Matching, al
though it is not spoiled for use a: food.
"It sometimes happens that the chick
is fully grown in the egg, but is not
strong enough to pick its way out by
breaking the shell. This often happens
in the nest as well as in the incubator.
The cause of it is simply that the chick
is not strong. 1t has not healthy con-
stitut!on. But its constitution was de-
tcrmined before the incubator got hold
of it.
"1Iany persons suppose that the incu-
bator is modern invention, but TINS IS
not so. The Egyptians, in both ancient
and modern times, used incubatols.
They adopted the plan Of ovens. Their
machinery was not so ingenious or as
complicated as ours, but they appeared
to have had cutie as good success with
their ovens without automatic regulators
of the heat or humidity. 1t is related
thai they had some ovens that would
hold eigst or te thousand eggs: They
certainly had aud have great skill IN the
use of the incubator.
ssuf course such delicate machine re-
ouires careful and intelligent handling.
There have been plenty of cases where
farmers have condemned the incubators,
when, in fact, their failure was due to
stupid management Of the machine, ana
when this has been proved by successful
management of the same machines by
competent mel. There are plenty OF
people who never can learn to WorE any
machine, and yet always blame the
machine instead of themselves. Some
pcop.e viii use an incubator eight or
nine years auG make it pay. 1t has been
proven that a man may take comtorta-
ble living for a family with half an acre
of ground and a good incubator.
1.-THE best soil for chickens is sandy
The theory is that the soft impurities
are washed away by the rains, and the
chickens do not pick up substances that
produce all sorts of diseases. The main
secret of successful chicken raising Is
cleanliness. Chickens must have room
and it is death to them to keep them III
dirty coop.
"What is the use of an incubator and
what is the advantage over the Matching
in the old way? The advantage IS tnat
the l:a:ching is controlled, the ratio Of
chickens produced is greater, the work
10 done with more regularity and in q