Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1909-07-30

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The two most important points to
consider in buying an incubator are
the lamp and the regulator, since upon
the efficiency of these depends the
maintenance of constant tempera-
ture in the egg chamber. The lamp
and chimney should be of heavy metal.
The reservoir should hold enough oil
for twenty-eight to thirty hours run.
The burner should be of brass, with
cotton wick which fits snugly and yet
works easily. 1t is important to use
the highest grade Of oil that can be
obtained, ms n steady heat cannot be
maintained with cheap OIL
The function Of the regulator Is to
raise or lower valve over the lamp,
thus lessening or increasing the amount
of hot air that goes into the machine.
OF all the many kinds Of regulators
none works more satisfactorily than
the double disk type. The disks should
be four or FIVE inches across. If
smaller they are not sensitive enough,
The regulator should be placed toward
the back part of the egg chamber and
high enough so that 1t will be well up
out of the way. Avoid incubators
that have the regulator lever on top of
the machine. Such lever is always
in the way and is liable to be bent or
displaced. A machine that has the
lever ut the end or under a false top
is much more satisfactory. There is
nothing in the way on top, and it can
be used as table for testing, turn
ing and cooling eggs.
The body of the incubator should be
made Of well fitted hard wood, with
three walls and two dead air spaces,
so as to be US little affected by the
outside temperature us possible. The
legs should be strong and firmly at
tached. The doors should be of double
glass. The egg trays should slide
easily, and there should be at least
three and half inches clearance be-
tween the eggs end the top of the
chamber. The nursery below the trays
should be Mt least four inches deep.
This lower space is needed for the
newly Matched chicks. This nursery
is sometimes made to slide out like a
drawer. This is a great convenience
in removing the chickens.
A small hole covered with remova-
bic slide will provide all the ventila-
ton needed in addition to that obtain
ed when the doors are open for turn
ing the eggs. A wet sponge kept un-
der the egg trays will usually furnish
sufficient moisture. The amount Of
moisture needed can be determined by
the size Of the air cell in the big end
Of the egg. If this gets to be more
than one-flfth the size of the egg more
moisture should be supplied.
Handling tho Incubator.
There is no better place for the In
cubator than clean, dry cellar. 1t
should be run empty for at least a
day before the eggs are put in, so ms
to get the flame and regulator adjust
ed. The flame should be clean and
bright and the regulator set SO as to
maintain constant temperature of
1OOF.
1t takes day or two to get the eggs
warmed up after they are put in. By
the third day the thermometer should
be up to 1O3 and should be kept there
the rest of the time. The eggs should
be tested the third day and infected or
dead ones taken out. The eggs should
be turned every morning until the
nineteenth day. This can be done by
rolling them over with the hand or
| placing another trav over them md
turning them completely over. After
turning they should be left out ten or
fifteen minutes to cool. After the nine