The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-06-03
THOUSANDS OF OUCKL|NGS
IN A UNIQUE INCUBATOR
zee Lees Plans for Raising the Birds From
the Egg, for Sale for fattening
Purposes

out of a hundred. and so the selec-
tons are made very carefully OF the
remainder. The small. the dark and
the III formed eggs are put aside for
sale. while the only ones which go TO
the hatchery are OF the very best that
the entire days work has found. The
eggs which are not worthy OF the Sc
lection are then disposed OF. the Chi
nese restaurants and the households of
the vicinity being the purchasers. The
price obtained for these is 81 for sixty
three. or as the Chinese dealer says.
Lose three eggs. each dollar" They
are as good as any others usually. but
n slight crack in the shell has con-
demned them.
Once the selections have been COM
pleted the next step OF the handling OF
the eggs Is taken up at once. This
contemplates the actual Matching OF
the eggs and they are now transferred
TO the second story. The rooms above
the store are the ordinary divisions
in such buildings. but zee Lee has
made over one OF his rooms for the
ducking Industry. Against one wall.
built like a closet. with just sufficient
width for the placing within OF the fiat
baskets Into which the eggs are turned
from the deep ones OF the sorting Sec
ton. Is the heating ROOM There are
six shelves along the wall and on the
floor are half dozen carefully isolated
stoves. In which are burned charcoal.
The purpose OF this first room Is the
raising OF the temperature OF the eggs.
The usual warmth Is los degrees and
the eggs stay In this apartment for at
least a day. the heat being carefully
watched SO that there may be no cook
ing by too intense heat, and yet the
starting OF the work OF termination.
From this first degree the eggs are
carefully transported to the incubator
proper.
This room. adjoining the heating
apartment. Is the most unique one OF
the entire establishment. The room is
about nine feet wide and 20 feet long.
lighted by a window at the front. Up
the center OF the room Is an aisle on
either side OF which rises a partition.
enclosing space which Is filled with
barrels. encased in a packing OF rice
husks. There are IL OF these barrels,
linei thiclsly with straw paper, and
covered with wicker baskets, and as
they are so carefully covered and lined
and encased. they form the incubator
proper and their heat has been found
TO be practically uniform.
The placing of the eggs in the bar
rels Is the first consideration, for ii must
be remembered that each egg must be
turned twice a day and that for this
purpose the handling must be careful
~ and easily performed. So IL was
that zee Lee devised his own scheme.
This Is the placing OF fifty eggs, or
sufficient to make one layer in the bar
rel in n square OF cloth which is care
fully deposited in the barrel when held
by the four corners. and the eggs
spread out smoothly. Upon this first
layer OF eggs is placed another cloth.
and so on until the barrel Is filled with
the eggs. So when Il becomes the duty
Of the proprietor to turn the eggs, and
this is a duty which he does not often
turn over 10 one OF the subordinates,
he simply has to keep one barrel empty
and then as he lifts one square of cloth
with its cargo. place IL in the wicker
cover and turn the eggs with his hands
and place the square of cloth in the
empty barrel. This is kept UP until
the barrel first attacked is emptied. and
then the second barrel is attended to,
the eggs being put into the barrel just
emptled and so on until all the eggs
have been turned and there remains
one empty barrel at the other end OF
the round. The work of turning all
the eggs takes three hours for one
mar or two hours with two men. and
Is performed at a m and ? y. m
each day.
These barrels furnish the homes of
the eggs for the Il days following their
being heated. This time is the length
Of period for such weather as now OBJ
tains but when the winter Is here and
the air Is raw IL Is often found neces-
sary to leave the eggs for one day
more. This period passed. the next
stage Is the putting OF the eggs on the
shelves where they get more air and
light and are developed. until they are
ready TO come out OF the shells
These shelves are the full length of
the roooms and the width OF the bins
into which the barrels are packed be-
low. There are thus four OF them and
they are never empty for more than a
day at any time. The eggs are simply
laid about upon the smooth surface.
which Is padded with soft paper. and
there they are turned twice a day as
they were when below. II Is almost n
matter OF the coming out OF the shell
OF a duck n minute. for from all over
those shelves loaded with eggs came
the noises yesterday OF breaking shells.
the piping OF the covering and the
first sign OF the coming TO life OF the
duckiing. The morning is the time for
the collection OF the little downy crea-
rures and then there are found from
CO 90 500. which are brought out OF the
warmth and taken below where in spe- !
cial baskets they are kept for the !
trade.
The trade Is n lively one. too. for the |
Chinese growers OF ducks see the add |
ed profit In selling their eggs 20 zee |
lee and having him take the chances |
u the Matching. and then buying from !
him thu duckiiuEs and raising them. 1
The hens are thus kept busily laying
ri the time. and the loss OF the diner-
ence Is - little that IL Is not noticed
Thus the rancher sells his eggs FOR one
and two-thl-is cents apiece. and when
the eggs have been out OF his hands
FOR four weeks perhaps. he buys from
Yeo Lee the ducklings. ready 10 eat
and swim. for seven and one-half cents
each.
And g, IL roes. Daily there go from
re little store IN Pauahi street hun
srads OF the little ducks and daily there
come into II the other hundreds OF
eyes. The average Of the loss Is %
Der cent. though often Y-e Lee says
III Of - III