Evening star., 1925-01-04
Hens Furnish Eggs Be Distributed Throughout Worl
ncubators of Type That Was Operated Centuries Before

chicks. Each basket contains 100 or
eco eggs. A blast of warm air comes
forth, and, putting my hand on the
eggs, l can feel that they are milk
warm. AS look a workman lights a
nre in another oven, using a bundle
of rice straws, worth perhaps l or 2
cents. This bit of fuel will warm the
oven enough for the 10 days the eggs
are to remain in it. During this
period they are turned over every
day, and at the end they are taken
out and laid upon racks overhead or
put in deep baskets. Each layer of
eggs is covered with a cloth to keep
1t warm. The baskets used are of
closely-woven straw and lined with
paper, so as to keep out the cold
In other words, these Chinese incu-
bators are worked on the principle OF
the fireless cooker. the eggs being
first warmed in the ovens and then
packed SO they will not lose any of
their heat
The period OF incubation is longer
! or shorter, according to whether the
eggs are those of geese, ducks or
chickens. The manager tells me that
| 1t takes 80 days to hatch the goose
eggs, 26 to hatch the duck eggs and
II or % for the eggs of the chickens
| During this time every egg has to be
| must be taken out as soon as they
make their way through the shells.
| Caring for the eggs is a work of
infinite care and patience, and a case
of being on the job all the time
Usually the workmen sleep in the
room with the eggs or in one ad-
joining, and some one is on duty at
every hour of both day and night.
Although everything depends on
keeping the eggs at just the right
temperature, no thermometers are
used. workman tests the tempera-
| ture of the eggs by thrusting one into
the socket of his eyes and holding it
there a second or two. He becomes
so expert that when the egg touches
his eyelid he can tell right away
whether ii is too warm, too cool or
just the right temperature.
| When 1 climbed up onto q platform
| and looked over space about 90 feet
! square covered with eggs l could see
! baby goslings, ducklings and chicks
some with their heads out and some
with bits of she'll still on their backs
1t was remarkable sight, and as ]
watched the chirping Of something
like 1000 little throats made a, must
cal sound in my ears. One of the
workmen carried a basket of duck
lings out into the sun so could
! photograph them. L asked the man
ager what they would sell for He
replied that he was getting 2la cents
! for chickens, 4 cents for ducks and &
| cents for goslings. lie said he had
no trouble in selling all he could
hatch, and 1 judge that he makes a
| f9lr profit. The chicks are ready for
! sale es soon as dry, and are usually
| taken on contract by chicken dealers
and duck feeders.
! + WISH | could take Cne Of our hclp
: full American hen or even
| rooster through a factory | visited
on the banks of the Whangpoo River
at Shanghai. ] venture the hen would
be clucking and the rooster Growing
with Indignation for weeks to come.
The days output of the factory
! represented the work OF more than
| 1,000,00 hens whose eggs were being
/ dried or frozen for use in the United
States and Europe.
| Although the Chinese have had for
centuries may ways of preparing eggs
! for the market, it remained for Amer
! leans to come here and establish the
! business of freezing and drying eggs
! by the million and shipping them all
! over the world. This particular
| plant. built of bricks and concrete
! is a striking example of American
! sanitation and cleanliness in a coun-
! try of which some one has said the
! people take only two baths in a life
/ time-cne when they are born and
/ the other when they are laid out for
! burial. I 90 not believe this state+
ment, but the care of the person of
! the common Chinese leaves much to
! be wished for.
! If cleanliness is next to godliness,
the workers in this factory are
I celestial in more ways than one OF
! its 900 employees every one who han
dies an egg has to take a shower or
tub bath every day. There are 400
| girls, each of whom has to keep her
nails manicured down to the quick.