The Eddy current., 1898-04-30

whether farmer shall use hen
or an Incubator for Matching his chicks
will depend largely on the volume OF
his operations II he keeps only a
dozen or 20 hens Il certainly will not
pay him 20 depend on an Incubator,
but n he expects 10 raise several hun
dreds hens n year, M we believe every
farmer should. II will be advisable for
him 90 secure an incubator as soon as
he can. 1ncubators can now be pur-
chased very cheaply. and the invest
ment will be a permanent one, for u
Is probably true that 30 far as one
mans life Is concerned incubators new
er wear out An Incubator will pay for
Itself many times in the course OF ten
years. Not only So but II Will save
much labor And. while buying II Is
better 10 get a large machine. A big
flock OF chicks is not 80 hard 10 look
out for az a number OF smaller aocks.
as one can readily imagine who has had
much 20 do with sitting hens.
The comparison OF tho hen and The
incubator shows that much OF the pre-
pOnderance Of testimony Is on the side
OF the incubator. who that has had 20
look after a dozen sitting hens has not
wished that all OF the hens could be
combined into one big hen and that all
Of the chicks could be put Into one
fock7 This Ia one OF the most valuable
things about the incubator. One can
raise from one TO two hundred chicks
a. n time and have the work all In
bunch. Another advantage is that the
lice can bo finally exterminated. In
fact n a man begins right and takes
care Of his poultry as he should there
ls no reason IN the world for ever hav-
ing a louise among the poultry, Il all OF
the chicks are raised IN incubators.
This alone n confederation OF vast
moment when we use hens for sit
ting Il In generally impossible to ex-
terminate the lice. AZ least. even n
they can be exterminated by extraordi-
nary methods, they seldom are. Some
time ago the Farmers Rey'"~' sent out
inquiries 20 lts readers as 10 the cause
OF losses In the poultry yard. The re-
plies showed that more chicks we're
lost from lico than from all other
causes combined. Thus the incubator
removes az one stroke the greatest
cause for mortality among chicks.
Probably the second greatest loss
among newly born chicks Is being trod-
den to death by the old hen. We some
times hear people say that no one can
care for a chick as an old hen, but the
fact remains that the hen is 80 stupid
that she will stand on a chick till the
life is gons. even though the little one
keeps up n constant pcoping as long as
II can. Instinct does not take the place
OF intellect The writer has frequently
lost the larger part OF brood through
the stupidity OF the old hen. This is
esp ,cially true OF heavy hens foE
mothers. With some OF the heavy
birds II ia no unusual thing 10 20 out
10 their nest every morning and find
another dead chick" so we believe
that II will pay the farmer 10 substi-
tute his own intellect for the instinct
OF the hen. This he can do IN the pur-
chase OF an incubator
OF course. like all other things. the
running OF an incubator must be
learned, but this is not a difficult thing
TO do. provided one will listen TO the
advice OF those who have run them for
many years. II Is not at all necessary
for one 10 learn entirely In the dear
school Of experience. Tho main point
In an incubator Is 10 keep the tempera-
turo right, and TO see that when the
chicks come into the brooder they have
enough heat TO enable them TO make a
continuous growth.