The Columbus journal., 1898-05-04

1W0 nC0 ~ to0 10CO00IOo
Whether q farmer shall use Q hen
or IN incubator for Matching his chicks
will depend largely on the volume OF
his operations. II he- keeps only .
dozen or % hens It certainly viii not
pay him to depend on an incubator.
but II he expects to raise several hum
dreds hens year. - W believe every
farmer should, It will be advisable for
him to secure IN Incubator ~ soon -
he can. lncubators can now be pur-
chased very cheaply. and the invest
ment will be . permanent one. for It
d probably true that 20 far a. one
mans life II concerned incubators new
er wear out An incubator will pay for
itself many times In the course Of ten
years. Not only 20. but It will save
much labor. And. while buying. It II
better to get . large machine. A big
flock Of chicks is not % hard to look
out for as . number Of smaller hocks.
a one can readily imagine who has had
much to do with sitting hens.
The comparison Of the hen and the
Incubator shows that much Of the pre-
ponderance Of testimony is on the side
Of the incubator. Who that has had to
look after . 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
flock: This Is one of the most valuable
things about the incubator. One can
raise from one to two hundred chicks
at a time and have the work all In q
bunch. Another advantage IL that the
lice can be finally exterminated. In
fact II . man begins right and takes
care Of his poultry as he should there
Is no reason In the world for ever hav-
ing louse among the poultry. II all OF
tie chicks are raised In incubators.
This alone IL q consideration Of vast
moment. When We use hens for sit
ting It is generally impossible to ex-
terminate the lice. At least. even II
they can be exterminated by extraordi-
nary methods. they seldom are. Some
time ago the Farmers Review sent out
inquiries to it, readers as to the cause
Of losses in tho poultry yard. The re-
plies showed that more chicks were
lost from lice than from ali other
causes combined. Thus the incubator
removes at 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 q chick as an old hen. but the
fact remains that the hen is SO stupid
that she will stand on a chick till the
life is gone. even though the little one
keeps up q constant peeping as long as
It 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 il
especially true Of heavy hens for
mothers. With some Of the heavy
birds It is NO unusual thing to 80 out
to their nest every morning and find
another dead chick" So We believe
that 1t will pay the farmer to substi-
tnte 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 |
but this Is not a dificult thing
to do, provided one will listen to the
advice OF those who have run them for |
many years 1t Is not at all necessary
for one to learn entirely in the dear
school Of experience. The main point |
in an incubator is to keep the tempera-
ture right. and to see that when the |
chicks come into the brOoder they have
enough heat to enable them to make q
cont iuuO,,a 1rnvrfh