The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1893-06-29
EGGS BY TIE THOUSANDS,
HOW THEY ARE MATCHED ARTI-
FICIALLY IN EGYPT.
Ninety Thousand I'm Process of In
cubntiOn Gs Once-An Old
Man and n boy the
49, Sole Attendants.

CuhnttOm ia Once-@Ah OAU
Man and n boy the
49, Sole Attendants.
This being the season of the year that
Che chicken industry is a subject Oh
special interest, the proverb of time Is
money" is especially applicable to the les
tive hen. Some information which an
able counsel sends from Egypt ON az
tifcial hatchings of chickens may be IN
teresting. The Egyptians of thousands
of years ago seem to have fully reailzeo
the value of the hen. They saw even III
the dim twilight of those early days the
absurdity of one hen deyoting three
weeks of time and six weeks of scratch
ing to the production of twelve chickens.
Hence, the Egytians mind applied itself
10 the task of artificial incubation, and
soon incubated artifcially a system by
which one man with Il few simple &C
compartments could have $4,000 eggs
in Matching process at one time. An in
cubaror which has 10000 eggs undergo
ing at one time is regarded by the Brook
lyn Citizen as quite an institution, aud
the thought of one incubator and one
decrepit man, with the aid of Il 16-year-
old boy and a small quantity OF fuel,
turning out $4,000 chickens in three
months time has led Consul General
Cardwell, of Carlo, to give the people of
the United States some hints on chicken
producing.
The ''incubatory as Consul Cardwell
terms it, is huge affair built of sun
dried bricks, mortar and earth. The
walls are sixteen feet high and TWO
feet in thickness, but there are double
walls around the outside and the space
between is filled with earth so as to
prevent the escape of the heat and keep
an even Temperature within. The floor
is covered with mortar to prevent the
entrance of moisture. Within the Struc-
ture is divided into compartments which
are like bakers oven III shape. these
are the places where the eggs are depoS-
tied for Matching, and the care with
which they are constructed to prevent
changes in atmosphere from without Is
shown by the fact that there is at Least
ten feet thickness of wall and earth be-
tween them and the climate outside.
This is heated several days before the
eggs are placed inside, and after the
moisture is all expelled the attendant de
termineS the proper temperature without
Ii thermometer, but merely by his own
sensation, and during the weeks III which
the eggs are ia process of incubation the
two attendants live day and night with
them, keeping sufficient bre, opening or
closing draugbts and air. ducts, never al
lowing the heat to fall below 9S or rise
above 100 degrees, and all without the
aid of Il thermometer, until at the end
Of the twenty-One days the thousands OF
chickens begin to make their appearance;
Artificial incubation" says Consul
Cardwell, lis by. no means ~, a strictly
Matching eggs by other than natural pro-
cess was known and practiced by an
Gent Egyptians, and the Egyptian Incu-
batOry Of to-day is but reproduction of
the Cae of thousands of years ago: In all
these years the Egyptian breed of a
chickens has not changed and the man
ner of production has remained immu-
table. Not long ago l secured metal
stamp of a chicken deposited in a tomb
over EGO years ago, and 1t Is the per-
feet type of the Egyptian fowl OF to-day,
and when the stamp was struck artihclal
incubation was a thing of actual exist
ance In Egypt The methods of hatch
ing eggs by artificial means and know
ledge of constructing appliances for the
same have descended through ages from
father to son, and the wonderful success
attending this industry throws into insig-
nifieapee the modern scientific machine
;vteIy introduced into the United States
and elsewhere. The marvellous success
of artificial fowl production i'll Egypt
proyes the fact that inventive genius
even in America, might be directed into
more successful and far less expensive
methods Of industry by drawing inspira,
ton from these patient. pever-tiring PEG
pie of the Nile valley. In 1880 the TOW.
Industry of the United States amounted
to over 100000, 600; and if to so vast al
industry could be applied the economics
of the Egyptian, production, profits would
be trebied. These economies are exer
cised in everything. Not only, are egg
put through the process of incubation
more cheaply than anywhere else i'll the
world but chicks are reared at an ex
penSe past comprehension, while deseasC
and natural death among fowls, because
OF tireless care, are almost unknown
The incubatory is constructed of sun
dried bricks, mortar and earth. The ont
examined by me was n structure 20 fee
long, 60 feet wide and 16 feet high. l
is provided with twelve compartments
or incubators, each capable of holding
1890 eggs. making q total capacity o
$1,000 eggs undergoing Incubation at on
time.
1.-The season of operation lasts oni!
three months ont of the twelve, beginnin;
with March and ending with May: there
fore, allowing three weeks for incubatin;
iegSs. one week for removing each hatcI
and preparation for again filling the incu
batoTs with eggs, the number of egg
under treatment at this incubator in on
season may be placed at 100000. From
these are Matched $4,000 chicks. TIL,
percentage of hatch would be much great
er, but the eggs, being necessarily pro
cured in large quantities and from dis
tant places. are largely damaged for in
cubation. Still those lacking vitality ar
not lost. Experience makes the attend
ants of the tlcubatOrs great experts
and in a very fey days after the egg
are placed in the ovens the trained ham
detects as quickly the HnVitalized egg
as does the expert bank cashier the de
fective coin. The unVitalized eggs are a
once placed upon the market at low price
for culinary consr mption. Eggs ar
bought for the incubator at never exceed
ing B cents dozen. After the incubator
begin to turn out their product peopl
come from all the surrounding region
buying mp the hatch in numbers to sui
and dispostng of eggs in exchange 70
chickens. The latter, distributed every
where. are then reared. with n very SINAI