St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1910-04-27

them to c<nflne the hen The hens are
set In groups. so that those sitting on
eggs which are TO hatch the same
time may be given their liberty at
once. The attendant has only to re-
move the board from the nest, lift of
the hens and return in a hour to see
that there is hen on each nest.
Another scheme for the easy ham
ding of sitting hens, the plans for
which have been largely sold, consists
In constructing a series Of outdoor
nests and runways made by setting
foot wide boards on edge about one
foot apart. The runways are covered
with laths or netting except the one In
which the nest is constructed, this
being protected from the weather by
another wide board to form roof.
Each hen thus has her indy ldual nest
and q runway, In which the hen may
exercise and dust herself to get rid OF
lice. Old fruit cans are used to pro-
vide food and water.
Such an arrangement for sitting
hens reduces the work of caring for
them to a minimum, and IL the nests
are well protected from the weather
and the ground where the nests are
located thrown up so that the water
will not run In the results are usually
better than with hens set indoors. The
nests should be arranged so that hens
may be shut on them when the eggs
begin to hatch, or the restless hen will
frequently leave the nest with the
first few chicks and allow the others to
die in the shell.
Essentials of a Good Incubator.
In the case Of artificial incubation
we have a number Of points to look
after that do not concern us when
Matching hens. The first to be observ-
ed Is uniform temperature-103 for all
eggs in the machine at all times. The
second consideration and one that
causes much more trouble In practice
Is to provide just sufficient circulation
Of air Of just sufficient dryness to
cause the eggs to lose water by evap-
grafton at the normal rate; otherwise
the body of the chick will contain too
much water or not enough and die in
the shell or shortly after Matching.
The novice can do no better, as far as
this and other points Of incubation are
concerned, than to follow the direc
tons of the maker Of his machine.
The following discussion of the
points of a good incubator are given
to help the poultryman In selecting
machine or in deciding whether he Is
capable Of handling the problem OF
artificial incubation successfully rath-
er than for the purpose OF teaching
him to run any particular incubator:
The case Of the incubator should be
built double or triple wall to with
stand variation in the outside temporal
ture. The door should fit neatly and
should be made Of double glass. The
lamp, both bowl and chimney, should
be made OF heavy metal material and
should have a wick sufficiently wide
to maintain the temperature of the
incubator with low blaze. The lamp
is generally placed at the end of the
machine, though there are some good
incubators now made with the lamp
placed underneath the machine. The
heat is got from the lamp to the eggs
by means Of circulation of hot air or
a tank Of hot water. The hot air ma
chimes seem to have proved most sue
cessful In practice, and the majority
Of well known makes are now Of that
type. 1t is easier, however, to make
a cheap hot water machine that will
retain the heat than it Is to make
hot air machine. This is because the
tank Of hot water holds the heat
against sudden changes in outside tenn
perature.
Regulators composed Of two metals,
as aluminium and steel, are best. Wa
fers filed with ether are more sensi-
tive, but weaker In action. Hard rub
Der bars are frequently used. The In
cubatOr needs no arrangement for
turning eggs, as this is not as impor-
tant a part Of the operation as is fire.
quently stated. and the eggs can be
rolled around readily with the hand