The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-21
The Mamnloth Incubator
By Frederic J. Haskin.

 produces more ducks each season than any other area of equal extent in the world. This one plant annually pro- duces about 10000 duoklings. the most or which are sold fin New York City. sometime ago the proprietor lost his incubator plant by Ire which broke out In the night from an unknown cause. He not only suffered the loss of his building. but eighty-three lamp heateu machines each with capacity for holding 300 duck eggs. Many of these machines were full of eggs at Hj time and several contained newly matched ducklings ready for removal. As a safeguard against future loss of this kind the proprietor decided to build a mammoth incubator
 This big machine has ninety-six com partments and has a total capacity or o6,00e duck eggs, or nearly 5O,OOo hen eggs It is heated by hot water pipes that extend throughout each tier of compartments The consumption oI fuel in the coal-heated, hot water boil- CTS is regulated automatically by ther- mostatic action; the temperature Of the water at the point where 1t enters each tier of compartments is controlled in a similar manner. and the heat or each matching chamber Is governed by e standard thermostat, thus taking care of the animal heat generated In the eggs after they have been incubated' two or three weeks.
 Thirty to 50 cents worth of hard coal | will oberate this big machine during the period of twenty-four hours. the amount consumed per day depending on the weather or season of the year. The | labor of caring for 1t is reduced to @ minimum. It Is said that not more | than 20 per cent as much labor is re- quired to care for this giant hatcher as would be necessary to handle an | equal capacity of small machines. The | eggs are turned and cooled without re- | moving them from the matching cham | bers. There are no lamps to fill, no | wicks to trim, and no odors of kero- l sene to vitiate the air of the incubator | ceIler. Any woman who can lift shovelful of coal waist high can attend | to it as easily as she could put room | In order, and with no more physical ef- fort. Undoubtedly the successful ip- troductiop of these big machines rep l resents the beginning of Q great revo- lution in the poultry Industry of the | United States.
 As regards matching qualities an in- ] cubator of this class should hatch from 1 70 to 80 per cent of fertile hen eggs or duck eggs. Rawlings ancient history | tells us there was an Egyptian law, antedating the Christian era, which provided that the proprietor of pub lie incubator must deliver to persons who furnished hatchable eggs at least sixty-six chicks for each 100 eggs. At | the present time standard types of in- l cubators can be relied on to hatch 75 to 90 per cent of fertile eggs. Very much depends on the health and vigor of the breeding stock. If the kick Is in the egg" as the saying goes. there is no question but that the new style of incubator will make good.
 In all probability every trading cen ter or county seat located in agricul- tural sections where poultry and eggs are important products will. In good time. have its public hatchery, because of the great saving this ancient plan will effect in time, labor, fuel, etc. This Is not merely a prediction. Conditions have been indicating this result for several years. A large amount of pub lie matching has been done on numer- ous poultry plants by the use of small portable incubators. Now that we have the mammoth hot water compart- ment machine to reduce the labor item fully 80 per cent, and the expense of fuel fully 50 per cent, we may expect this branch of the business to develop rapidly If for no other season than 1t will take care of the question of using lamp-heated or oll-heated incubators in dwellings or other buildings covered by Ire insurance policies
 This question of fire hazard from lamp or oil-heated machines is at present the most important Issue con corning the incubator industry in this country. There are probably a million incubators of one kind or another in'I use in the United States each season, and so many of these are dk faulty construction that enormous property losses have resulted from fires origi- mating In their use. The average poul- try house is infiammable and Is usual ly beyond the reach of fire protection facilities: consequently the National Board of Fire Undrwrlters. represent Ting practically all the standard fire in- aurance companies now doing business in the United States and Canada. in- sist that all incubators going on the market hereafter shall bear an lnspec- ton label or be prohibited from lsed in or adjacent to buildings covered by insurance. The excitement that thIs mandate has created in the world of incubator manufacturers may well be imagined from the fact that the ninety odd different machines now being made in this country, less than half a dozen can qualify under their existing pat ents. CCopyright. 1909. by Frederick J. Has,
 kin.)
 TOmOrr0wi Conservation of Child