Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-02-20

the BlasS door. nevertheless some IN
struments are particularly difficult to
read. and it Is surprising that so little
Improvement has been made in this re.
spect. A slight tilt OF the thermomete'
mounting will often clarity its reading
to a marked extent. or the beam of light
from an electric torchlight will prove
helpful. BY all means learn to read the
thermometer without having to open the
door, as this practice means loss of heat
and sudden changes in the temperature.
1t should be remembered that the small
er the machine the more susceptible 1t
is to variations in temperature. In other
words the large machine has such a
large area, which corresponds to reserve
capacity, that greater time Is required
to effect a change This is especially
true Of large hot-water mammoths; the
water remains hot for a considerable
period after the fire cools off.
QUESTION OF MOISTURE
Whether moisture should or should not
be supplied in the egg chamber is a
| question that has never been decided
definitely. Both principles have their
advocates. Both types of machines give
good results. Some machines are fitted
with pans to hold moist sand or water.
|
| built with a solid bottom, the idea be-
| ing to conserve the moisture within the
eggs; others are built with SLATED bot
toms, through which there is a constant
| circulation of air.
| That excessive evaporation is bad for
a hatch there can be no doubt. And
| too much moisture will ruin hatch
| also. 1t seems impossible to furnish any
! hard and fast rules on the subject.
| Much depends upon the incubator, its
| location. the season of the year, climate
| and the humidity Of the atmosphere at
| the time of the hatch. Incubators which
| are designed, to use moisture pans sell
dom give the best results when operated
without the pans. Similarly, the non
moisture machines are seldom improved
| by the addition Of moisture pans
| In selecting a machine the following
points should be borne in mind: 1t re-
| quires about as much care to run 800
egg incubator as one holding 90 eggs
! The larger machines cost less in proper
| ton to their capacity than the smaller
ones. And in most cases the fuel cost
per egg is reduced with the increased
| capacity of the machine.
In other words. IL a poultry raiser con-
templates Matching r. fairly large num-
| Der of eggs, 1t would be economy to
bring them off in one or two matches in
a large machine. rather than attempt a
greater number of matches with small
machine. Moreover, it Is well to consider
| what ones requirements are likely to be
| a year or two hence. 1t is not necessary
to All the egg traps simply because the
space Is available. AS a rule. much time
s saved In tending incubators and brood
ers II the young stock Is reared in one
or two broods.
In regard to price. 1t is we'll to. re-
member that the value of the machine Is
small compared to the value Of the eggs
placed in it during the lifetime Of the
incubator. Therefore 1t is poor economy
to purchase a machine just because it is
cheap. Buy one that is reliable The
good matches that it will turn out will
soon return its initial cost.
Don't expect too much from an incu-
bator Ninety per cent. matches or bet
ter are seldom obtained by the most
skilled operators under the most favor
able conditions The average is much
, lower most Of the large poultry plants
reckon 90 per cent matches for the en-
tire season as highly satisfactory. Hens
seldom do better than rs per cent
These averages may seem very low to
, the inexperienced person; but when one
considers that from five to 20 per cent.
of the eggs may run infertile to start,
and that another 10 per cent OF the eggs
may be fertile, yet too weak to make a
normal development, 1t is easy to under
stand why the machine cannot make
| perfect scores. Then, too, the machine
is no better than the quality Of the eggs
which are given into its care. No in
. cubator can vitalize weak eggs. or over
come conditions which may have had a
bad effect on the eggs before they were
taken 90 he machine.
If tho eggs are from strong, healthy
stock ii they are hatchable. In short.
the incubator will hatch them fully as
well as hens. and a great deal more eco
nomically, because the machine can
handle such large numbers of eggs. Elk
cept for the incubator the poultry indus
try could not have attained its present
magnitude production on large scale
would have been impossible.
Copyright 1919 by Public Ledger Coz