Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-11-20
MOTHERLEss CHICKS.
SURPRISES AT A LONG ISLAND
POULTRY FARM.

sedate old hens, arrogant roosters, We
vety, lily white ducks. They are a
within reach of the mildest halloo an
yet not q dozen Of them in sight ut ono,
That is the first impression ono gets of
large. we'll ordered poultry farm.
| 1t is curious impression, too. Tn
underpinning of your ideas seems ute,
ly out Of gear. Whore ia tho tradition,
cluck-cluck and the featherod hustle Q
tho barnyard yeu know so we'll? The
you suddenly remember. Modern scienc
has stepped in with her incubators an
her mixed feed and deposed Methe
Nature on her own ground Tho "settir
hen" is good, but the hot air box is NOR
reliable.
1.-The chickens and tho ducks are al
there "behind the scenes" in long 70,
of frame buildings. Tho poultry farm
OF to-day is run on scientific principles
The machinery docs not wear itself, it i
far too w"ll oiled. But you may feel it
motion.
"Sandacrc," the country seat of Rob
ers Colgate, on the outskirts Of the vii
lage Of Quogue. l.. L., within sight am
sound of the blue Atlantic, is ut once on,
of the most famous and representative o.
modern poultry farms. 1t is famous be.
cause of its size and its varieties of fancy
fowl, representative.b because every limo.
walton and improvement is broug ht into
play within its boundaries Once upon
q time there was farm on the New
Jersey sands that fur exceeded it. Blu,
now that Jersey chicken settlement has
handed over its glories and "Sandaore''
reigns-uniquc at least.
"Sandacre Farm" ns it is to-day is the
outgrowth of years. Mr.. Colgate has
long been a fancicr of note. But until
recently he has always exhibited in the
name of his manager and kept aloof
from the turmoil Of county and state
fairs. 1t was tho organization Of the
New York Poultry and Pigeon Associa-
ton that brought him before the public
as man Of fowl. He was not one of tho
associations originators, but summoned
to the very first conclave he made his
mark among those who were and was
elected the first president This post he
has filled ever since.
visited "Sandacre Farm" on q hot
morning. The sunlight lay warm and
glistening on the brown roofs of the long
row OF chicken houses and the waters Of
Quogue Bay-a magnificent duck pond,
truly-shimmering in the glare. "Sand-
acre. is most appropriately named, and,
to paraphraso bit, it might we'll be
called so fowls paradise" And the
Scriptural injunction has been ebeyed.
The soil is sandy everywhere, but it is
not upon the sand that these houses have
been built.
Gaylor, the manager, awaited me at
the incubator house door. And u strange
y interesting person found this Gayior.
lie was man of science, machinest,
az electrician, an inventor and fancier
oil rolled into one. The incubator in
use (there were two others in tho little
house) was Of his own make, piece by
piece, and he could tinker any part of it
should need be.
August is betwixt and between seasons
tor the mechanical Matching of chickens
and ducks. The incubator's greatest
activity is in the early months Of the
year. Then brood follows brood without
tho loss of q day. Seven hundred and
nifty eggs are put i'll tho hatcher ut one
time, though its actual capacity is double
that
''Has experience proved the incubator
greater success than the old-fashioned
barnyard hem" asked.
eyes, and no." answered the manager,
with reflective whisker twirl.
''The incubator chickens are no
stronger and no better than those Matched
in tho natural way. But it is difficult to
get setting hens, enough Of them mean.
Then again, the proportion Of loss is very
much smaller In the hatcher. Look ut
this machinery and you will see why.
And again it was impressed upon me
how modern science is able to give points
to nature.
The eggs rest i'll rows on wirc-bottomed
trays, eighty five to ninety eggs to tray.
These trays slide in and out of the hat
cher like desk drawers. Along the top run
ton iron pipes, five for the flow of water,
five for its return. Several inches lower
extends thermostat of peculiar design.
1t is bar of hard rubber, one sixteenth
OF an inch thick and one inch wide. 1t
is held taut by a powerful spring and q
bar controlled by it plays between the
points OF an electric circuit, comploting
it by touching every point, breaking It
by standing midway. The thermostat is
regulated to 1O2-1O2 1-2 degrees, the
lamp is lit, the hot water circulates
through the pipes. The temperature rises
above 102 IL, tho circuit is completed and
q clock work is put into motion, which
shoves loose sleeve or snutfcr over the
lamp wick and opens the ventilators.
When the temperature has fallen one
degree the thermostatic bar files to the
other point. The clockwork moves
again, the sleeve is lifted off the lamp
wick, the light blazes up again and the
ventilators are closed.
Seemingly the mechanism is perfect,
but there is yet another safeguard. A
second thermostat is in the machine
This is regulated between So and 1O5,
the danger points Of incubation. When
the temperature touches either Of these
the circuit is completed, and three electric
bells ring-one in Sandacre mansion,
another in tho managers house,
the third in the brooding house. 1t is q
danger signal by night as we'll Us by day,
seldom il over sounded, but a hatch Of
| $50 eggs is too precious to take risks