Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-02-20
HINTS
ABOUT |NCUBAT0RS
Easy to neutrality-suspicious. Of
fers No Obstacle to Success
Variations in Warmth--Ex-
plantations of Heat Controlling
Devices
BY II. ARMSTRONG ROBERTS

We think of artificial incubation as a
modern idea, a goth century product,
whereas 1t is really a very old practice.
The Egyptians, Chinese and other an
cient peoples Matched eggs by artificial
means centuries ago. They used print
tive methods, such as ear.henware bake
ovens, or vessels buried In the ground
covered with manure, but they got
results. The earliest European attempt
at incubation was reported in France in
the 18th century Here again, ferment-
ing manure was employed to maintain
the necessary heat.
The lamp-heated principle came into
being about 1850 though 1t was not I'M
til % years later that these inventions
were really perfected And at that such
machines were crude affairs compared
to present day incubators. American in
genuity brought about most of the i'm
provements, so that 1t is now possible to
buy a machine of known reliability and
one that is almost foolproof and automatic
| in its operation.
| People no longer question the value
| and convenience of the incubator, but
| there are some who suspect that hatch
! ing machines are difficult to operate, or
| that they require special training and
| considerable experience before good re-
suits can be expected. This is mis-
taken idea. Incubators are not diff
cult to run, and previous experience is
altogether unnecessary. All one needs Is
! common sense, plus Willingness to OBJ
! serve faithfully certain rules and regu-
lations. Punctualty, reguarity-those
are the cardinal factors which make for
successful management.
| DIFFERENT TYPES OF MACHINES
It will be observed that there are many
| kinds OF machines on the market, and
that many claims are made for each
| kind, therefore the prospe ctive purchaser
| is sometimes perpleXed as to which Is
the best sort for his purpose. Appar-
| emily these various machines involve
| widely different principles. AS a mat
ter of fact. they are especially the same
| The differences consist chiefly in the APP
! plication Of mechanical appliances, OF
in the shape or finish of the machine
Workmanship, materials and so on.
The underlying principles must be sim
liar. inasmuch as the whole theory OF in
cubation is based upon the simple fac,
that, If a fertile egg is kept for a suffi
cient length of time under certain con-
dtions of heat, ventilation. moisture
n healthy fowl. In other words the OPP
orator merely furnishes a laboratory
which is tle egg chamber in the incu-
bator, in which nature develops her life
! giving elements.
| For the sake of convenience ii Is Gus.
tomary to divide incubators into two gen
eral classes: Hot-air and hot water ma
chimes, and to subdivide these classe.
into moisture and non-moisture designs
Kerosene. gas and coal are used fol
fuel Recently electricity has come into
use successfully; though the initial cost o.
the electric hatcher Is greater than the
other machines
Most of the small machines are lamp
heated, that is they burn kerosene. Gas
burners can be attached, and where thi
fuel is available the work Of attending
the heater IS reduced to minimum
Large incubators, those which have {
capacity of many thousands of eggs
popularity known as mammoth machines
are usually heated by coal burning fur
naces in connection with hot-water pip
ing systems that resemble the heatins
systems in dwellings.
; HOW HEAT IS SUPPLIED
The hot-air- h Gated machines are thos,
in which fresh air Is taken in at tn,
lamp. heated as it passes around tn,
drum which corresponds to the Gimme.
of a lamp, then passed through the egg,
chamber by means Of a diaphragm II
the ceiling of the machine, and on
through variously arranged openings. II
some makes of incubators the heated al
simply passes over the radiator abov
egg trays. Machines so heated will holt
their warmth longer than hot-air ma
chimes. in case the lamp should go out
, but such accidents never occur where tn
incubator receives proper attention
therefore this point is not worth serou
! consideration
That part Of the equipment Of an in
cubator which controls the regulation o
/ the heat is called thermostat. All type
I of machines have this attachment. Til
, principle involved is that of expansion
and contraction caused by changes i
> temperature. An instrument CONSISTING
, of a combination of metals, such as stee
zinc and aluminium, IL fastened on tn
) inside of the egg chamber and connecte
by rods to a damper which controls tn
admission of heat to the inside of tn
machine.
Wafer or disk thermostats, which con
tain some fluid used for expanding an
, contracting, are also used. Some Of thes
devices regulate the radiation of hea
such as the height of the flame in
, lamp burner, as well as the admissio
, of heat to the egg chamber. In hot wa
!, ter systems the expansion of the water 1