Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1916-05-18

We cannot improve on Mistress Biddy's
virtues as means of Matching a brood
Of chicks. for she has been making a
specially of the art for hundreds of years;
but we can almost equal her efforts and
certain it is that we can do IL more eco
nomically than she can. We have found
out her secrets. and To these VIC have add
ed our mechanical genius, with the result
that instead of Matching i eggs Mt one
operation. we can now hatch $1,000 eggs
ut one time, and even greater numbers
there is practically no limit TO the pro-
cess. There are hatcheries in the coun-
try that have capacity of from 10000 to
19o,Gr eggs at every Matching. The figures
arc astounding are they not? Such thing
would have been considered prcposter-
ous fasehood in our fathers boyhood
DAYS.
The whole principle of artificial, nCu-
baton IS based upon the very simple Fact
that If a strong fertile egg is maintained
under certain uniform conditions of heat
moisture and fresh air for sufiicien:
period ~ time i: will he Transformed in
TO n strong. healthy Young bird The pro
cess may not hatch quite as many eggs,
proportionately, as the hen will develop,
but this is not due to any defect in the
machine necessarily. rather because in
handling such large numbers of eggs il
is Impossible to give each one the same
attention that the hen would be free to
give il. Ponder for moment. however.
and think Of the time saved on the part
of the attendant who would have to feed
enough sitting hens 20 hatch--say, l2|o
eggs. which is not great number on
farms devoted to poultry raising; and
then consider what an enormous loss in
egg production there would be while these
hens are idling their time on the nest,
! instead Of being ION the job" in the lay
! ing houses.
Eight hundred hens would he required
| to hatch 1900 eggs, and from the time
| they become broody until they have hatch
/ ed, reared and weancd their hroods, and
then reinvi.orated themselves for further
| egg production, from eigh; to Il weeks
must elapse. During this time they would
| probably lay four dozen eggs each, which,
! at an average price Of % cents dozen,
would mean a loss of $500 to their owner.
POSSIBILITIES OF THE INCUBATOR.
Briefly il is poor economy to hatch with
hens, except in rare cases as tho above
! figures will prove. The exceptions to the
rule are when farmers raise hut very few
! chickens each season, as sort of ny
product, and feel that they cannot devote
a part of each day to the care Of an
incubator. But. as a matter of fact, the
care of an incubator of small capacity is
almost negligible and could easily be lone
by the farmers wife in a half hours
work each day Incuhators have reachcc
such "A state of perfection these days tna
they are almost automatic and fool-proot
in their opera lion.
Il is a fallacy to believe. as some think
that en-hatched chicks are stronger thar
incubator chicks. and will therefore b'
more productive There is no difference
providing the eggs used in the incuhato
are fresh and of known reliability, anc
the machine is operated in accordance
with the manufacturers directions, which
are usually based on natural. common
sense laws.
poultrymen who raise chickens on
large scale must use incuhators, becaus
In the first place they cannot rely on tn
hens desire to sit early enough 10 hate
pullets that will mature as fall layers
And il is the autumn egg that is tn
golden egg" of which the poultry raise
must reap fair harvest, If he woul
have his ledger balance properly with hi
feed account.
Here Is another point worthy of con
sideration, even by those who prefer t
do their Matching in the natural way
Frequently a sitting hen will become sic
and die. or without any apparent eNcus
she will forsake her nest; perhaps sh