Arizona republican., 1906-10-13

the last half. As is usually the case with all eggs in a dry climate, the shell of the ostrich egg becomes dry and hard, and very difficult for the chick to break. When the time arrives for the liberation of the young. ruey will be heard to chirp and to move in the shell. The parent bird seems to understand the situation and will often crack the shell with it's breastbOne sometimes taking the young bird by the head and drawing it out of the shell. Sometimes three or four days eIapse between the matching of the first and the last eggs in the nest. Dur ing this time one or the other parent bird takes care of the chicks while the other is attentive to the nest. Ow- ing liability of injury to the young birds by reason Of the anxiety of the parent birds, it is a good plan after the first eggs have matched to remove the remaining eggs to an incubator
 Artificial incubation can be success fully carried on with any good, we'll regulated machine that will hatch eggs of common fowls, provided. of course it is constructed on a large enough scale to accommodate ostrich eggs, which are inches in diameter and ' inches long. It has been found best to use an incubator which will hold but 30 to 35 eggs. as in case of a blunder or an accident to the incubator the loss will be comparatively small. The incubator should be heated for two or three days before the eggs are put in. to see that everything is in proper working order. The incubation should be started at a temperature of 1O1 de- grees F. In three weeks this tempera- ture will be slightly increased by the heat generated in the eggs themselves Every. egg should be turned at least once or twice a day. To be on the safe side it is well to adopt the rule of turning the eggs three times daily.
 The regulation of the temperature is not the only thing to be considered in matching eggs in an incubator. The matter of moisture presents quite a serious problem. Inside the shell of the egg are two hbrOus coats, of which one adheres closely to the shell and the other incIoses the contents. there being a small air space between them. This air space should be closely watch ed by the attendant as it's size indi- cates the moisture condition of the egg. If this space becomes abnormaIly large small pans of warm water should be placed in the incubator; if it becomes too small, the moisture should be re- duced An intelligent and watchful attendant will experience no difficulty in this matter. Moisture pans are sel- dom required before the fourth week.
 In a warm climate the incubator house should be so constructed as to be as cool as possible and at the same time free from drafts and not subject to sudden changes. During the period of incubation the attendant should ob- serve the growth of the embryo at least once every two days. This he can do by shading the egg with the open hand and holding it to a lighted candle. Careful observation will en- able him to detect and remove the in fertile eggs by the end of the second week; but whenever there is room for doubt, the egg should be allowed to remain longer, perhaps to the end Of the third week. when the internal heat of the eggs will be sufficient to unmis- takeably indicate the live eggs. Near the end of the sixth week, the eggs Should be watched more closely. By placing an egg to the ear one can hear the unhatched chick scratch the inside of the shell and chirp; also the air space will be observed to become filled up It is then time to crack the shell and thus aid the chick in Iiberating itself''