The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-07-26
Amasrsaa AuteIltgeuts1.
SARGE PLUNKETT.
Chicken Raising by Incubation.
From the Atlanta Constellation.

they hatch especially when you use
the incubator.
[ had intended to say nothing of my
experience with the incubator, but
the New York Herald provokes me to
by flaming account of raising baby
by incubation. This baby incubator
breaks the camers back. 1t is such
an attack upon our established meth
dds and old-time ways that / feel it a
duty for the sake Of coming genera
tions to do what I can TO discourage
it's further progress. It ought to be
nipped in the bud, and as for me and
my folks, we shall make it our patri-
otic duty to cry it down.
My experience in poultry raising by
incubation is enough to discourage
the use Of the things if it could be
told just as it was. I shall not allow
my prejudices in favor of old.time
ways to misiead any one who will be-
lieve me when [ try to impress the
mishaps liable in this incubator busi-
ness. And they have such depress-
ing effect upol. the spirits Of the fea-
tbered tribe. There is not rooster
in Georgia but will hang his head at
the sight Of these machines. They
cease to crow and lose all interest in
passing matters, And the pretty pull
lets that once so proudly cackled in the
barnyard partake of the sad depress-
ion. They seem to know that their
eggs will never be warmed to life un-
der their. protecting wings and they
despise the poor little chicks brought
into life by the incubator. They can
never sort their offspring from the in;
cubated hocks nor cluck the call that
gathers them; all the pride. Of being
mother is forever blasted by these
machines, and with the cowed roosters
they NOPE about in sort Of listless
way that as good as says they have
nothing to live for.
From what 1 know Of the depressing
effect that these incubators have upon
the feathered tribe, I think it-the
greatest folly to progress" then on
to human application. / don t think
that men could hold up any more than
the roosters under such a system, and
it would put in doubt that sweetest OF
things-a mother. The country is
gone, I'm afraid, but / didn' t expect
It to go in this way-this baby incuba-
tor breaks the camel 8 back,
It is conspiracy, [ think: Anews'
paper at the head of it in this country.
The man Of Atlanta tells me that Wall
Street is at the head Of itin this coun-
try. The kings OF the old country are
for it over there. They have adopted
it as method Of securing soldiers in
the years to come, so that they may
have as much war as they please, with
out any whining about "Where is my
bow tonight" or Somebody's dar-
ling" They want soldiers who AIM t
anybody's darling or anybody's boys,
without family affection or country ties
and if their supply runs down they
will just chunk up the fire under their
incubators and turn them out. But
maybe they Will 'scount their chicks
before they hatch" and fall short, SO
after that they will be willing to re-
turn to old times and old time ways.
Discouragement is all they should re-
ceive.
The old oman got me into the in
cubator business. She was plum car
rried away with the notions Of saving
the poor hens the trouble of setting.
It took 'em SO long, and it was SO
hard on 'em to scratch. We. could
rush the incubators and we did rush
'em. The old oman got wild on the
subject Of gathering up eggs. She sold
everything. she had to get a big supply
and fed away all the red pepper to the
pullets to make them prolific. She
had gathered together forty-eight doz-
en- eggs the morning we set to start
the incubator. ItIdidn't take us long
to get them placed and while we were
resting the old oman she went to fgur-
ing.
Forty-eight dozen chickens at ~
cents apiece was the way she figured
it, for ours was to be the first in mar,
ket. We could turn them out from
the incubator before other people :
hens thought of setting. The old
oman is quick in figures and she did
like so much to figure us out small!
fortune in this venture. She worked
all through with vim. She rolled uI
her sleeves, as it were, but she gave
me an easy place to fll-mig ghty easy
AL I had to do was to watch a little
thing she called the thermometer
and turn up the lamps or turn them
down, as the case might be. | think
my place VAS most too easy, for along
in the afternoon, while the old oman
stepped over to neighbor's to blow
off little of her enthusiasm, | drop:
ped off to sleep. I slept and dreamed
for l don't know how long, to awake
and find the incubator red hot and
still heating. I moved when l saw
the situation. got up a regular cy.
clone movement, because | knew the
mischief would be to pay if didn't
get the machine cooled down before
the old oman return. I got it down
and / smiled as / saw the "thermom
eter' standing just where she told me
to keep it just as nicely as if it had
never run away while I took my nap
1 washed my face, famed my redness
down and practiced looking innocent
till she made her appearance. The
first thing she did was to examine the
the thermometer. [ knew she
would do this when [ was moving tc
get it down. It was just right ev,
erything was satisfactory had done
just splendid, and she patted me on
the head and called me "pct" as she
passed out Of the incubator room and
left me with my meditations. | twist.
ed my mouth to one side and wunk as
she went out of hearing. | felt mean
and would have given all ever ex'
pected to have to have had Brown
there to sympathize and counsel with
me. AS I listened to the old oman
voice calling up the hens to get some
more redpepper, I thought to myself
of that saying "where ignorance is
bliss" etc., and resolved that live OF
d;o 7 would never tell of the little sleer