Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-05-31
INCUBATORS.
soMErHINGABoUT EGGHAToH.
ING DIX MACHINERY.
Various Kinds of Inoubators-Dir-
ferent Methods OF Supplying
Hcat-Seorets of Success.
full Chicken Raising.

Some idea of the extent to which in
cubators, or machines for egg hatchiSg.
are used may be gathered from the ia It
that there arc annually shipped from the
ono little village of Hamilton, N. j.,
over 100, 900 chickens for broiling, all
| Of which are Matched by incubators.
| Speaking of incubators, Mr.. w. Brock
| ner, of New York firm, said TO San
reporter:
"Thcre are hundreds of patterns of
incnbators. Some like one kind, and
swear by it; others do not like that
kind, but do like another kind. They
oil have the general form of box, in
which the eggs arc placed and kept ut
uniform degree of temperature until
they are Matched. But, of course, there
arc many differences of detail. You
may buy an incubator for $75, or you
may get one for $l5. Some men will
have success with cheap box, while
others will foil with an expensive one.
''There haze been about 5000 incu-
bators sold of the pattern known as
'Ihe perfect hatcher 1t is an alright
box, with glass doors. so that the opera
lions inside may be watched without
opening. The eggs are placed in pans,
say one hundred osgs i'll tho box. OF
course they must be good eggs, and not
only good eggs. but eggs from breed
sexes has been preserved. 1t is we'll
known that hen does not always hatch
out all the eggs sho sits on. Sometimes
the farmer puts choice egg in the nest,
and, though tho hen sits on it tho same
Us on tho Others, tho farmer does not ex-
pect it to hatch, ard he does not blame
tho hen il she does not hatch it. Yet peo-
pie will put bad eggs into the incubator
and blame the incubator if they don't
hatch. Tho fact is that farmer is
lucky if his hens hatch out more than
fifty per cent. of the eggs they sit on. It
is not unusual for an incubator to hatch
out soventy-iivo per cent.
"Thcrc is generally belief that no
body can tell whether fresh eggs have
been impTegnated so that they will
hatch. Only one man claims to tell, and
they do not believe he can do it. Pra:-
tically, therefore, the eggs are taken on
risk, but the prc' autiol should be OBJ
ser ed of using only eggs from brood
where there is at least one rooster to
every ten chickens.
at takes about twenty ono days to
hatch a batch of eggs in this incubator.
During this time the temperature should
means that the eggs should be at 1902
degrees, and not tho air. In order to
secure uniformity there is an automatic
apparatus which let's in cool air when
Ger the eggs are Mt higher tempera-
ture than -02 degrees
"fhere are different methods of sup.
plying the heat. Some use 10. air Som.
use hot water, which is in an endless
pipe, and kept warm by "A lamp. There
is an arrangement for supplying fresh
ar and also Tor replacing the moisture.
There are various theories of the proper
amount of moisture that is best adapted
to success. There rnaJ be variation of
two or three degrees of temperature
without danger. It is known that hen
often lea cs her nest for short time
without falling 20 hatch, bat 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
Matched chickens, or to put in new eggs,
or to turn the eggs.
although i. is not possible at frs. 10
tell whether an egg is likely TO hatch, it
is easy 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 strong
light, and the experienced eye can
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 as food.
at sometimes happens that the chick
is fully grown in the egg, but is not
strong enough to pick It's way out by
breaking the shell. This often happens
in the nest rs well as in the incubator.
The cause of it is simply that the chick
is not strong. 1t has not healthy con-
stitution. But its constitution was de-
termincd before the incubator got hold
of it.
Many persons suppose that the ncu-
bator is modern invention, but this is
not so. The Egyptians, in both ancient
and modern times. used incubatois.
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. It is related
that they had some ovens that would
hold eight or tel thousand eggs. They
certainly had and have great skill in the
use of the incubator.
tOf course such q delicate machine re-
quires careful and intelligent handline.
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, and
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 wort. any
machine, and yet alwa-s+ blame the !
machine instead of themselves Some
pcop.c will use an incubator eigh~Sr
nine years and make it pay. 1t has been
proven that man may take a comforta-
BILE living for a famiiy with half an acre
of ground and 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 in /
dirty coop.
What is the use of an incubator and
W lie ha o1t ofor h. l.