Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-03-02

ties Of flock Of fowls so accurately
as incubation. lf the birds are in
good health and vigorous, and the
feeding and housing conditions are
as they should be, their eggs VIII
hatch well. If the birds are out Of
condition, as the result Of careless
breeding, iniudicious feeding. de-
fcctive housing and the like. their
eggs will not produce satisfactory
hatches. Successful incubation,
whether artificial or natural, depends
largely on the selection and care OF
the eggs, as we shall see from the
following article.
II Is mistake to assume that lnCu-
baton commences with placing eggs
inside Of an incubator or under
hen If poor matches are experienced it
is wrong tn condemn the incubator or
hen, without first investigating the cir
ctlmstanccs preliminary to the actual
matching process II is possible that the
eggs are at fault And # IS probable
that the operator IS to blame Tor the
evils IN the eggs
strictly speaking, the first step in in
cubation begins in the breeding pens,
the SECOND step is IN the selection 81
eggs which have the qlalif cations 81
hatching eggs: and the third step lies
I'm the care of the eggs prior to hafchlng
Al Of these factors have a greater infu-
cncc than is generally supposed
BEWARE or sfc KLY sTOC X.
Common sense dictates that it IS use
less 10 attempt 10 secure strong oil
spring from aunnlc, poorly fed, llstiess,
sickly or inbrcd parent stock. Prime
hatching eggs are laid by fowls IN prime
| condition Thus is a natural Law strong
| healthy lively chicks arc hatched from
/ prime eggs. and no others. The poultry
| raiser should see to il that his breeding
stock Possesses standard requirements
| for 4 given variety, and that every Specl-
| men Is IN sound health ntii this con
| dition Is established beyond al doubt
Matching IS a gamble.
! Realizing the immense advantage o.
| beng able 10 pre-dctermine the fertility
| of eggs and their sex, from time 10 time
| claims are made that this Information
| can bc obtained through a particular
| system. instrument or secret. A mat
| ter Of fact, these methods are all IN
| supported by scientific evidence There
| Is no theory or practice by uh ch u !
| possible to distinguish the sex ot an
| egg, and If Is not possible TO mate pen
80 that tho sex can be controlled. more
over. IT, Is not possible To determine
whether an egg is fertile, without open
ing the egg. hll claims 70 the contrary
are notions.
| The o.d-fashioned idea that round eggs
would hatch pullets. and long or pointed
eggs cockeres, is entirely without founda'
ton. The shape 0f au egg Is influenced
by the contour Of the ovlduct or organ
In which the egg receives its albumen anc
shell and this characteristic IS pecuiial
to the individual hen.
The idea that the position of the al
cell indicates sex Is equally unreiIaDie
And the weight or specific gravity ot tn
egg is no indication OF sex or fertility.
HOW SPECIFIC GRAVITY COUNTS.
A knowledge of the specific gravity o
an egg has certain advantages. Il tends
to show which eggs have the best chance
of being batched For example, Their
seems to be some correlation between
the specific gravity of an egg and tn
vigor oil the hen that lard Il but TN
observation indicates a state OF healt
and nothing more. Then, too, the specih
gravity serves TO establish the age oi a
egg. AMI this factor, OF course has nuc
to do with the Matching qualities. Il ma
been found that the ,pecitlc graViiy oi IN
average new-lald egg Is log; alter te
davs il Is 072. after three weeks IV3'
and after i month lO3o.
The Importance Of selecting none bu
. well-forined eggs fo- Matching purpose
? cannot be overestimated Not only 81
| such a selection produce bigger hatche:
but il vii result IN Improvements ger
erally. Normal eggs are almost certal
10 produce chickens which viii lay mol
5 NAL eggs. while the reverse Is equal
: true.
2 Discard All eggs which are abnormall
! large or small. those which are too Ions
: too round. fattened on one side, elllE
4 teal. wedge-shaped. and those Whle
= have anv cxcreSence or ridge. As
r general rule. no eggs should be lncl
n bated which weigh less than two ounce
E nor over two and half ounces. In
n ideal egg weighs from twenty-elght
Y thirty ounces to the dozen. It IS i
, egg-shaped specimen, nicely rounded 4
e one end with Il gradual taper TO tn
s other, and having a trm she'll Of goo
! texture. free from bumps, coTrugatonS an
: ridges
t Be careful not to use eggs with exceed
!, iuglv thin or very thick shells, or thos
u having invisible cracks, termed checks
c in poi ~ parlance These latter defect
can be determined by tapping the she
ntly with ones t.nger nail or lea
pencil
). DO NOT WASH EGGS
If eggs intended for Matching are :
4 badly s1iled that the poultryman is dr
posed to wash them, this apparent nece
+ sitv should bar them as desirable hatci
{ ing eggs BY all means avoid wtShin
D eggs because to do 81 destroys Il
! mutIlagenous coating or b 'om, iwhic
) Is intended to protect the egg agaln'
: undue evaporation, and the entrance
; germs through the pores in the shell.
: Badly soiled eggs are not likely
hatch we'll, because of the solled matt,
] clinging to the shell, In which case wasl
1 ing might prove somewhat benet.cla
$ but, as previously mentioned, It wei
2 better not to use such eggs at all
they are used and washed, Immerse Il
eggs in alcohol, and then allow them I
drain and dry OF their own accord. L
not rub them with 4 cloth As a pr
: caution against disease, eggs are som
times dipped i'll a mild disinfectan
S Alcohol may be used for this purpose.