“LIBRARY OF OF CON CONGRESS. aT Tae SY Gngriot Do. Shelf: N12 / ea Wa saree COS? O) 20% Or 9 KZ) © ) Je} ® pecnt Ree ae © -2066> 2 ajoese ccm saees eelghe snes aot 8) 2) @-@O®@, om 2®6-@°®, 2@ ® O®O® oO ae a 5 228 AY 0408 peairele seaeeneeeensanees ©0036 ase e405" O06 00306 OO O08 Especially adapted fo the Pacific Coast. PRINTED BY CALIFORNIA ORCHARD AND FARM 3 SA ca i is se lil cea ee eh eal a ate in el le i Se! | CALIFORNIA INCUBATORS as | Hl Le aplasiit: They are a hot or machine, self Pate well made and Ea fectly reliable, the regulator acting per fectly. We furnish everything necessary but the eggs, oil and water, and will promptly refund your money if not exactly — | as represented. Send for our new catalogue, enclosing 4 cents. 100 eggs, $17; 3 200 eggs, $20: 300 eggs, $25. E. A. NOYES, Agent for the Pacific Coast. West Butte, California. a The Sunset Incubator © HIs old, and in this locality, so favorably known Incubator, is advertised for the first time, now, to the public at large. Its regulation is perfect, distribution of heat equalled by few, surpassed by none, is made of the 6 best materials and by the best of workmen. Prices: 300 Egg Capacity sinc B45 480 Egg Capacity, $55. For further paxticulars address, “Se H. J. HORWECE, Petaluma, Cal. & . TEE ’95. rales Be), COMBINE ovate cubator Enfirely New ‘Tavention: TRIPLE CASE. DOUBLE DOORS, ep Our new Catalogue will give full description | an his : Combined Incubator, Brooders, Poultry an ee. Supplies, Mailed free on application. ia ee ? 7 Santa Ana Incubator Come. This Cut shows the °94 Style. SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA. Cos oO Tse on SCOR MTIONS* Especially adapted fo the Pacific Coast. PUBLISHED BY C. NISSON, PETALUMA, CAL. 1894. a4 Lae) \ N =" SRE NY 77 a | a i : \ % Z : , ‘\ \ ® BS 4 7 ne ‘SS es ea ed Pg S Px as r .s = 2 eo ~ baie Beco Oe: ~. — w= ~ of ~ pig » ~ = / / 4 ( ( ( / / t Ul ' ’ ' = v ad wv & ~--2e @ ame ™e 4 oe e. ps = 5 Pee testes Se = Re SSS SSS ereanwreece ere ef 7 @ Ny N -- =~ = wteees- eceeeenenenereewer fe cere seal | “Feas.2 and S Reduced J) Lee he oTON TN INCUBATORS: Nin cz Ma acts aime (0) 3 HATCHING BY HENS. WHAT KIND OF HENS TO USE. Nearly all market poultry men, who make the poultry busines. a specialty, use incubators, invariably so if they keep very large flocks of hens or raise broilers or ducklings for market. Some poultry men who keep less than one thousand hens and seldom more than five hundred, and raise young chicks merely with a view of keeping up their flocks, still use hens for hatching. Where eggs for market is the principal product taken into consideration, some breed or breeds of the Mediterranean class, and usually Leghorns, are kept. But as they are very poor sitters and mothers, if hens are to be used for hatching all the young chicks, it is absolutely necessary to keep some other breeds or crosses for this purpose. All the breeds of the Asiatic class make good sitters and excellent mothers, are quiet and gentle, but being rather heavy, they are too apt to break eggs in. the nest if sitting on the thin-shelled eggs of any of the Mediterranean breeds. All of the American class, the Plymouth Rocks and Wyandottes, being also. quiet and gentle of disposition and less heavy, are better for hatching pur- poses than the Asiatics. The old American Dominick is especially a good breed for this purpose, and seems in all localities to be much less inclined to disease than the newer breeds. Perhaps, however, the Black-Breasted Red Game and some of the other games, either pure or crossed on some other breed, even on non-sitters, make the most satisfactory hen for hatching and © rearing purposes if rightly managed, which simply means to make them get used to being handled. HOW TO SET A HEN. One often hears people say that hens stealing their nest away always do better, hatch their eggs better, bring out a larger hatch and raise their chicks better, than hens having been given a nest with eggs from other hens. People who say so are either not clese observers, or they do not know how to set a hen, or they have not got the right kind of ahen. Besides having the right kind of hens for sitting purposes, one must also have the right kind of quarters and nests for the hens. In all cases the nest should be, or appear to the hen to be, secluded. If a box is used for nest, it should never be so deep: that the hen must jump in order to get off or on it, nor so shallow that the eggs can be pushed out of it. Where hundreds of chicks are raised annually, it is necessary to have special arrangements. They need not be elaborate or costly. Ifthe hatching is done after the heaviest storms of the season are over, the hens can be set outside in a suitable coop, something like the engraving. At the end ofa common hen-coop, a box is placed for the hen to setin. This box should be made so.it can be closed up. The hen is closed in for about twenty-four | hours after she is set. The coop should also be covered with boards or sacks - at the end nearest the nest. In the coop is placed food and drink and after the hen brings out her brood the nest may be taken away, the opening in the 4 coop closed up, and the coop geutly moved into fresh ground. , The hen with her brood should occupy this coop for two to three weeks. In the nest should of course be put suitable litter, a little coarse straw in the bottom and a softer material on top. It is well to put a little sulphur on the top of the lit- -ter, then put the eggs in. If the hen has fleas, also put in some insect powder. . This is usually all that is necessary. Late in the season the box can be dispensed with if the coop isin a well sheltered and dry place. Simply scoop out a hole in one corner, and make a nest there, cover the coop well so that rain will not get into the nest. Always make a point to set several hens at a time so as to put pa or more broods together. A hen can take care of sixteen to forty chicks. I have often had them care for the latter number when weather was not too cold and rough, and it always appeared to me that the hens with large broods always did the best.. Where there are so many chicks she is compelled to hover oftener, and the chicks have always a chance to get under her, With only a few chicks she is more apt to be careless. The earlier hens can be set the better usually, still as it takes more time comparatively, to care for a few broods than for many, it is sometimes not. well to be in too much of.a hurry. Where many hundreds of chicks are ~ to be raised it is quite a task, and it is necessary to husband one’s energies so they will last to the end. It will not do to rest or become eareless until the task is finished. While the common A-shaped lath coop will, in most cases, answer all pur- poses, both while the hen is hatching and rearing her brood, even if placed outside in a dry and sheltered situation, it may sometimes be better to have covered houses and fenced-in runs made specially for the purpose. As the construction of such yards and sheds depends so much upon varying cireum- stances, it will hardly be of much benefit to describe any particular system. Anyone who intends to make a business of chicken-raising must possess in- genuity enough to adapt himself to circumstances. It may be said, however, that elaborate and costly contrivances are not necessarily the best. On the contrary, plain coops and houses that can easily be cleaned and, if possible, moved about, are the best. In speaking of early-raised chicks it means, here on this coast, winter- raised chicks, If hatched after the middle of March they are not considered early, and in most localities in California chicks hatched late in April or later seldom do well. In many places, however, it is quite easy and also profitable to hatch in August and succeeding months. If the broods hatched then can be placed on the edge of a corn-patch or cabbage, bean or other green-crop patch they often do remarkably well. The mellow soil, green food and many insects always abounding in such places is much in their favor; besides, the hens having passed the busiest part of the laying season will stay with their broods longer. They often begin moulting while going with their broods, and being well cared for will be apt to get so well over this period as to begin laying before winter weather sets in, and keep on laying all winter. jWhy chicks hatched in August, September and October should do better than May and June hatched chicks is not easily explained, but it is a fact, and as it is so easy to get broody hens at that time of the year, when even non-sitters condescend to hatch and raise their chicks pretty well, it is rather 5 fortunate and should be taken advantage of where hens are used for hatching, There is only one drawback to fall hatching; thatis lice. It is usually tiie worst time of the year with lice, and it is no use to try to raise lice and chicks at the same time. SHE MUST BE FREE FROM LICE. If itis necessary at all times to keep hens free from lice it is doubly so while she is used for hatching purposes. A hen should be clean when she begins hatching. The most common of these parasites is the hen-mite, often ealled the red mite on account of its color when full of blood. Unlike a louse it stays on the fowl only while feeding, and leaves them when satisfied, to hide under the perches or in the cracks of the house. These mites multiply so fast and, on account of their staying on the poultry only a short time, and that mostly at night, the hens are utterly at their mercy as their dusting themselves during the daytime can dothem no good. The poultryman must therefore do the work for the hen. Fortunately it is comparatively easy to destroy them. The remedies are so many, and most of them quite efficient, that the choice of the various remedies is of less importance than the thor- oughuess with which they are applied. Coal-oil will kill all it comes in con- tact with but, on account of its volatile nature, must be used often. Crude petroleum has more staying qualities and, if the perches and walls inside the house are well painted with it, it will destroy the mites pretty thoroughly, as those not reached directly can not get out of their hiding-places without get- ting into it Coal-tar is similar to crude petroleum but hardens quicker and is, therefore, not quite so good. Crude carbolie acid, mixed with water, a good-sized teaspoonful to one gallon of water, or half a teacup to an ordinary four-gallon bucket, if sprayed with a good force-pump having a good nozzle, _ and driven well into all cracks is a good and quick remedy. The same may be said of water alone heated to as near boiling-point as can be used. When _ either of the two latter remedies are used the perches should be painted with erude petroleum, or grease melted and mixed with coal-oil in such a propor- tion that it is like thick paint when cold. These remedies, except the coal-oil alone, if well done will clean houses thoroughly and need not be done more than three times a year. If nothing but coal-oil is used the houses must be gone over monthly, at least. — The long, dirty-white body louse is the next in importance. It would, in- deed, be far more annoying than the red mite if it was not for the fact that hens are able to clean themselves pretty thoroughly of this parasite if they are, at all times, liberally supplied with dusting places, and are fed well and . kept in good health. Ordinarily, nothing else is required except where poul- try is in any way crowded, in which case a regular warfare may have to be inaugurated against this pest. When ahen is to be used for hatching she must be examined and rid of them before being put upon the nest. Dusting with buhach if done well, is a pretty sure remedy. Sulphur simply dusted into the feathers does not'seem to be quite as efficient. The fumes of sulphur kills most of the various kinds of lice but the heat of the hen is not sufficient _ to produce fumes except when hatching. For this reason a small handfal of sulphur on top of litter in the nest, as recommended before, is at least a good © _ preventive and, as far as my experience goes, a cure. ; 6 Only one more of these skin parasites need be mentioned, because it can not be destroyed by any of the above remedies. This is usually known as the head-louse; it is, however, not a louse, but a tick. The best remedy is, undoubtedly, a little oil or lard applied to the head, where they are mostly found. Fleas are sometimes, also, very annoying. Buhach kills them but it may have to be repeated two or three times during incubation. It may seem a good many preliminaries to go through with before setting a hen but it should be remembered that all these hen-enemies do not neces- sarily exist. In fact, the successful poultryman has his hens clean, usually, or nearly so, and with only a little extra precaution during the hatching sea- son, will have his broods come off clean. While hatching, the hen should be as little disturbed as possible and the attendant, whenever around feeding or looking after her should move about quietly and slowly. The eggs used for hatching should, of course, be from good, healthy and strong stock and as fresh as possible. If eggs have to be kept for any length of time, say from one to four weeks, they should remain in a cool and even temperature, from about 40 to 55° RAISING CHICKS BY HENS. It is comparatively easy to raise chicks by hensif there are no lice to begin with, the hen has ordinary motherly instinct, it is the right season and no extraordinary circumstances interfere. A hen stealing her nest away often succeeds in raising nearly all her chicks without any assistance, so if the hen is fayored in the way of providing food for herseJf and young ones, and protected from her natural enemies, she should certainly be able to raise at least 80 per cent. of her chicks, and can do it easy enough with proper management. She should be given as favorable a location as possible, it should be rather open but sheltered from raw winds; under large trees or in orchards, unless the trees are small, are not good locations. If an orchard has to be used, the brood should be put at the edge, the most sunny and sheltered side being preferred. If the location is too open and exposed some shelter should be furnished, always remembering that it is near the ground the shelter is needed. The coop in which the hen is confined ought not to be too small, one end and part of one side next to this end should be tight enough so the hen can be sheltered from rain and strong wind, and also if need be have shade. A fair sized A coop is 4x33 base, height 23 feet. The length of time in which a ~ hen with a brood should be confined to her coop will depend upon cireum- stances and the hen, it will vary from one to three weeks, but need very seldom exceed two weeks. The coop should be daily moved a little on fresh ground so as to avoid filthiness.. After a hen has occupied a coop constantly for about a week, and especially if it is the same coop and in the same locality where she hatched her brood, she will return to this coop at night if let out inthe daytime. If this is also the place where the young ones are to remain, a hen house might be put up there when the chicks are about four weeks old. The hen will soon take to this house, and the young ones will go to roost with her when six or eight weeks old and perhaps sooner. The perches should be removed if the hen goes to roost before it is desirable. a - Oe ——— 7 About feeding the broods it will be necessary to say a little on the food question, not because it is in any way difficult to feed properly, but many people have a notion that it is the most important part of chicken‘ raising and the most difficult to do right. Impractical and fussy writers are mainly responsible for this timidity. As a matter of fact chicks as well as hens are exceedingly easy to please. The most important thing about feeding is to feed liberally (not wastefully), not to feed forever only one thing; not even the best of chicken feed, wheat, if fed quite exclusively is good for best re- sults. Some variety of food should always be given, and in proportion to the _@hance the chicks have of supplying themselves with a change of food around their runs. Nearly all kinds of table scraps form a very acceptable variety, indeed, no sensible observing person who takes pleasure in feeding young chicks (and who do no‘) need be afraid to feed wrorg. It is only those who trust to these impractical writers rather than their own good common sense, who are apt to make mistakes. Given plenty of food, of water, of grit, and comfortable clean quarters, with a watchful, careful attendant and success is pretty certain. This finishes the chapter on natural hatching and rearing. While per- haps the practical, experienced poultry raiser has not been benefited by read- ing it, I hope it has been sufficiently plain to beginners and others who have not made a specialty of poultry raising heretofore to be of service. The natural process of hatching will not likely ever be entirely abolished, indeed if systematically and carefully managed a great many chicks can be raised with comparatively little work and loss. Mg LLP AT LL ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION. Artificial incubation is now practiced to a very great extent by market poultry men as well as others not making a specialty of poultry farming. This is owing to the comparative perfect hatching machines made at the present day. It would not be truthful to call the incubator of to-day absolutely perfect, all the statements of incubator manufacturers to the contrary, notwithstanding, no incubator can hatch as well as a good hep, it will neither hatch as strong chicks nor as large a percentage. It may be said, and quite truthfully, that a good incubator properly managed will give better results than the average hen, but a good hen, free from lice and given a good chance in every way, will do considerably better. The exact reason why this is so we do not know, at least I have not heard of or seen anybody make even a good suggestion toward an explanation, indeed, most writers on this subject that I have had a chance to read, do not even seem to acknowl- edge the fact at all, but seem to believe that incubators can do better than any hen; this is certainly not so. It seems to be in starting the life in the egg that incubators fail the most and perhaps it is only the beginning which is defective in artificial] hatching. Not only do many eggs, which upon being opened seem to be perfectly fer- tilized fail to come to life, but many also die within a week, usually within three days after life started. After this and until the eighteenth day very few die, perhaps.no more than would die under a hen, but between the eighteenth and twenty-first day quite a large percentage, seldom less than 10 per cent. die. This later mortality may be partly, perhaps entirely due to the defective beginning, the embryo chick not having gotasufficiently strong start to enable it to stand the strain in getting out of the shell. There may be other reasons I do not know, neither do I know why the arti- ficial start should be so inferior to the natural start, however the two starts differ very materially. In the incubator the eggs are heated up simply by exposing the eggs to hot air. As air is not a good conductor of heat it takes a long time for the eggs to become blood warm, about twelve hours. Undera hen the eggs are ir direct contact with its body (as is well known the hen plucks all her feathers under her body out before she begins incuba- _ tion), her skin being a good conductor of heat the eggs very quickly and very thoroughly become heated up to blood heat. Weall knew how quickly acold hand absorbs heat from a hot forehead, or a cold foot from a warm one when in direct contact with each other. Itis therefore quite a certainty that eggs under a hen become warm in at least the tenth part of the time it takes eggs in an incubator to acquire the same temperature. But whether this is the reason that incubator eggs do not start as well as eggs under hens, I cannot say possibly, but it appears to me to be not un- reasonable to suppose it has at least much to do with it. This supposition is somewhat strengthened by experiments I made several years ago in heating up my incubators very thoroughly so that the sand in the trays became quite warm before I putin the eggs, Eggs started under hens and finishes 9 {n an incubator nearly always come out stronger and better than those started in the incubator. Not long since I found a nest a hen had stolen and left, the eggs were quite cold and I put them in the incubator; every egg brought forth a chick and every chick came out clean and dry and strong. I have frequently started eggs under hens to refill the incubators with after testing, and these eggs have always hatched the best. Some market poultrymen make it a practice to start all their eggs under hens whenever it is practicable for them to do so, and only finish them in the incubator in order to have them come out free from lice, using brooders for rearing the chicks. All these facts tend to show pretty conclusively that the artificial begin- ning is faulty. The reason why I cannot say positively, that it is only, or at least mainly the beginning of artificial hatching which is faulty, is that I have not had a chance to fully demonstrate that eggs started in incubators and finished under hens come out materially better than if finished in the incubator. We have in this, as in everything, much to learn; in order to come to true conclusions we must experiment very carefully and patiently. The most important thing is to locate the fault, remedies are comparatively easy to apply when the trouble is conclusively proved. It was my first plan to make more exhaustive experiments before writing these articles, but upon second consideration, and judging from past experience, I felt certain that even if I solved this one point two cther points would be ready for investi gation, so I will content myself and hope my readers will be content with stating as my present opinion, that the slowness of heating the egg to blood . heat the first time is one of the main drawbacks to artificial incubation, and every time after, when eggs cool down much, this same drawback is acting in continually less degrees as we near the close of the hatch. I do not wish it to be understood to be a dead certainty, and especially would I not wish it to be understood that the cooling off of eggs should not take place at all. But this will be considered further on. We will now consider THE INCUBATOR AS WE FIND IT. We have what is called hot water and hot air incubators. There is not so much: ditference in the action of these two: kinds as many people seem to think. The egg chamber in either is of course filled with hotair. The pipes or tanks, which in one kind contains hot water and the other hot air are, and must be, perfectly air tight; their’ function is to heat the air in the egg chamber. Whether they contain water, air, oil or any other medium is of no particular importance, so long as they furnish the necessary heat and dis- tribute the same evenly to all parts over the egg trays. That the airin a hot-water incubator should be more moist than in a hot-air incubator, is of course not so, at least no good argument has been brought forward to prove it. But even if it isso, it would be of no particular advantage, as moisture can be applied in quantities to suit in any kind of incubator, and too muck moisture is just as bad as too little of it. A certain amount of heat must be applied and the simplest and cheapest way of furnishing it is the best other things being equal. Itis of utmost importance to have the heat so evenly distributed _that the heat is at least nearly the same in all parts of the ege chamber on the level of the eggs. In neariy all square incubators itis some what difficult to get the corners as warm as the other parts. Even if the 10 temperature is at first nearly even, toward the close of the hatch the differ- . ence will be larger, owing to the fact that the chicks in the eggs then furnish some heat, and consequently the heat will be higher in the center than on the outside, and especially the corners. The reason for this is plain enough and need not be enlarged upon. In selecting an incubator: this should therefore be duly considered, although slight variation can be easily overcome by changing the position of the eggs in the trays when turning the eggs. Perhaps in this connection I might mention that it is not quite safe to judge the temperature of the egg chamber by the degrees registered by the thermometer lying on eggs that have been in the incubator ten days or over, it must then be taken into con- sideration that the heat of the eggs after that day may vary and influence the thermometor accordingly. For this reason the evenness of the temperature in the egg chamber can best be ascertained during the first' week of the hatch. Another important thing to consider is the ventilation, or itis perhaps better to call it, THE CIRCULATION OF AIR IN INCUBATORS. During the first period of the modern incubator making, the manufac- turers argued that eggs containing a living breathing being must necessarily need fresh air, and like all breathing life must throw off carbonie acid, and earbonic acid being fatal had to be gotrid of. It was argued that this gas being heavy, incubators should have plenty ventilation below the eggs. In- deed, some incubators were made with no solid bottom to them atall. When it was found that less ventilated incubators hatched better, some makers went to the other extreme and made away with ventilation altogether, claiming that it was all nonsense about the carbonic acid, that eggs neeeded no fresh air, and a few knowing genii even going so far as to claim that the air-space in eggs was filled with pure oxygen, sufficient to furnish all the fresh air a chick needed and that as a matter of course heat only was needed: We are apt to go from one extreme to another and to jump at conclusions. As a matter of fact the incubator makers of the first period were by far the nearest correct, as far as theory went, and only overdid the fresh air business to such an extent that cold drafts were created, causing uneveness of temper- ature. Their incubators were in other respects not as near perfect as those of to-day, but if those who claimed that no fresh air is needed could have made their incubators as air-tight as they supposed they did, they would have made a complete failure of it. There must be a circulation of air in incubators, and there must be fresh air. The idea that the air space in eggs should contain pure oxygen is absurd in the extreme. The air space, which is first formed by the contrac- tion of the contents upon cooling, increases in size as evaporation takes place. This alone proves that the shell of the egg is porous, and that some circulation of air must take place.. Pure air is just as essential to young life as to more mature beings and this should never be lost sight of. What is quite necessary, then, in any kind of incubator, is a constant sup- ply of pure air without causing strong draught, which is sure to again cause uneven temperature, Air is light and very easily put in motion, in fact pretty difficult to keep acjet. If kept as near quiet as possible the temperature wlll be proportion- 7 11 ately even at the same level, the upper air being the warmest and the lower the coldest. It is, however, impossible to keep air immovable where a con- stant supply of new air is introducec. In hot-air incubators heat is usually supplied from one point, except in very large ones. At the point where this heated air is introduced there is a disturbance. The eggs must be placed far enough below this point so as to be ina layer of air not directly affected by it. The larger this supply of air must be and the more itis confined w one point the further the eggs must be belowit. As, however, it issomewhat diffl- cult to force heat downward, it will require more heat to keep up the temper- ature in a high egg-chamber than ir a low one; therefore, to make extreme height unnecessary the heas is either first conveyed toa tank or drum, thus extending the point of disturbance over a large area and in a horizontal direc- tion, or a screen is interposed between the egg-trays and this heat supply; or the egg-trays must be placed in a more orless slanting position in order to receive the same degree of heat. The accompanying drawings show this more plainly than words. In fig. 1 the heated air radiates from one point. The dotted lines show what would likely be the lines of equal temperature. The egg-trays would have to be quite a long distance below the point where the heated air is introduced be- fore anearly level line could be found, and an absolutely level line could rarely be reached. Hither a screen or a tank properly placed will overcome this effectually. In hot water incubators the heat is introduced more evenly all over than in hot air incubators. In hot-water incubators the water, whether circulating through pipes or tanks, has about the same temperature all over, hence it is somewhat easier to get the even temperature in hot water incubators than in hot air incuba- tors. The evenness of the temperature does nct however depend alone upon how the heated air is supplied. - Incubators are not made air tight, there must be openings for the air, as it expands, to escape, if not the teniperature could not rise; there would be no circulation. It is therefore necessary to have openings for air to escape, even if a constant stream of hot air is not continually introduced, Cir- culation is necessary. The very reason why corners in square incubators are so difficult to get as warm as the rest of the incubator is just because of the imperfect circulation there. These openings are of course of much im- portance, and their size and location should be carefully studied. They must always be below the egg trays, preferabiy in the bottom, and the bottom should not be too close to the egg trays. If these openings or holes were just of a size only necessary to furnish the needed escape of air, the best places for them in square incubators would be in the corners, for the reason that the air would then be forced toward the corners, causing the circulation of the heated air into these corners. © ‘But as the volume of air which is forced downward varies greatly, they must be of a size in order to be large enough at all times, that at times, and in fact most the time, the current will be the other way if, as of course is _always the case, the temperature of the incubator room is lower than that of the egg chamber and cold air will enter. As the corners, of all places, are where we don’t want a cold draft, it is really a mistake to make. the holes in the corners, in spite of the fact that a great many incubators have the holes just there. The proper place for the escape hole is just under the warmest 12 spot of the egg trays, which is usually in the center, or toward the back end ~ in incubators were the doors are in one end only. q ‘In nearly all square incubators it will be of advantage to cut off about three inches of the outside corners of the egg trays. Where wire or other kind of open bottomed trays are used, the opening in the bottom influences the eggs directly over them much more than in solid bottomed trays, and precautions must be taken accordingly. I have dwelt somewhat at length on circulation of air as itis important © for operators to pay particular attention to the circulation of air in the in- cubators they use. Much of the failure is just caused by faulty circulation of air, and noincubator can act alike in all kinds of climates and situations. Pure air and even temperature must both be had. Pure air with uneven temperature will not do, neither will even temperature with impure air. The way doors are placed in incubators also affects the temperature, and the frequent opening of doors has a disturbing influence. In large incu- bators, having a width of three feet or over, it is best to have doors on the two opposite sides. If on one side only uneven circulation and temperature. is apt to be caused, not only because the doors open on but one side, thus causing amore frequent and rapid cooling of the eggs there, but also be- cause even if the doors are opened as lictle as possible, they never fit so exactly, especially in old incubators, but that air will enter more or less freely, and so this side in a manner monopolizes the circulation, while the air in the back part is apt to become stagnant. In this way both an unéven temperature and unequal purity of air may be the result. — Round or octagonal shaped incubators are not used now as much as formerly, because, I suppose, they are more expensive to make. So it will not be necessary to discuss them separately to any extent as the advantages they may possess over square ones will perhaps not counterbalance their extra cost. Their main advantage in shape being the absence of square corners and thus an even temperature can be more easily obtained. If we suppose Fig. 1 and 2 to be round incubators it will be seen that by making the trays slant toward the center in Fig. 1 we can have the eggs in a layer of air of even temperature, and by interposing a screen as in Fig. 2 of the right size and distance from the trays we need not even have the slanting position. An incubator shonld not be condemned hastily because the temperature is not perfectly even. If the variation is so great as to cause loss the reason why.should be found. It should be ascertained whether the fault is in the incubator or outside the incubator. If the fault is in the incubator and can not be remedied, then lose no time in throwing it away as it will prove an expensive tool at any price. REGULATING THE TEMPERATURE, The importance of regulating the temperature is pretty well recognized, in fact it is if anything a little over estimated, and, many failures supposed to be due to imperfect regulation, is quite often caused by something else. Still the regulz.tor should be a good one and be able to keep the temperature pelow safe degrees. An unreliable regulator is certainly worse than none. There are a.great many kinds cf regulators, some of which are patented. They all act upon the principle of expansion by heat and such bodies as air, 13 water, ether, quicksilver, etc., expanding freely are employed in one kind of regulators while in another the thermostatic principle, or unequal expansion of two different metals, or similar bodies, is used. Thus, forinstance, if a strip of iron and one of zine be fastened together firmly at the ends and loosely in the middle, the one end be fastened to something firm and the other end left free, then the free end will sway to and fro as the temperature varies, because heat expands the one metal, zinc, more than the other, iron. Zinc being of the metals the one expanding most by heat, and iron the least. these two metals would naturally be used if metals are used. Guttapercha, expands however nearly five times as much as zinc, and therefore a bar of it with a strip of iron would be preferable. Of the liquids that may be used for expanding a regulator, sulphuric ether expands the most, sulphuret of carbon, alcohol, linseed oil, water, quicksilver, next in the order named. Of more importance than the respect- ive expansive power of these liquids is the material used for enveloping them. These must be made of the most ficxible material consistent with the necessary strength, as the resistant power of the envelope is apt to pre- vent the gradual expansion of the fluids and cause the expansion to be spas- modic, and of course a regulator expanding in a jerky manner is very un- satisfactory. The envelopes must also be of a material that can withstand the chemical actions of the fluids used. Where a perfectly airtight vessel is not necessary to envelop the fluids used, as water or non-evaporating oils, a float in an open vessel may be used. The function of a regulator is to work a delicately hung lever, the lever to open a valve in the egg chamber or heating pipes, or simply cause the flame of the lamp to decrease or increase by working a double wick tube, or it may be used to connect or sever an electric current, the valves being worked by electricity instead of a lever. The latter method is used now far less than formerly because it requires the extra work of keeping a battery in working order. 1f a battery should happen to be out of order the regulator is quite useless, and as it is apt to get out of order without warning or at least unexpectedly, especially to amateurs, it can not be considered a good method. Itis trueit works with absolute accuracy when in proper working order, but there is no necessity of keeping the temperature always at one point. ; | It will be unnecessary to go into a more detailed description of the various regulators which may be used in incubators or brooders, as all leading incu- bators have reliable regulators, and where, in home made incubators one is wanted, it is cheaper to buy from some manufacturer of incubators or dealer in poultry supplies than to try to make one. But it is well to be somewhat familiar with the construction and workings of whatever regulator one uses. MOISTURE IN INCUBATORS. Besides pure air of the right temperature it is also of importance to guard against air becoming too dry. The moisture which exists in the atmosphere under ordinary circumstances may be considered the right amount for the successful hatching of eggs under hens. Since the temperature of the eggs under hens rarely ever exceeds 103 degrees it inay be reasonably supposed that if the heat of the eggs in an incubator does not exceed the same temper- 14 ature then no moisture should be added to the air in the incubator, unless it is unduly ventilated. It is true that eggs closely covered by a hen may not evaporate as much as eggs in an incubator, where there is always-more or less circulation of air passing over them; still, unless the incubator is ina very open, dry room, or the incubator more ventilated than is necessary, no extra moisture need be added. It is somewhat difficult to keep the heat down to 103 deg. in incubators during the.last half of the hatch and it is, therefore, necessary to see that the air does not become too dry then. As many operat- ors prefer to run the incubator at 104 deg. with more frequent cooling of the eggs than ai 103 deg. with less cooling, more moisture must then be applied. To condense it into arule: The higher the temperature the more moisture must be supplied, because more evaporation takes place. There are excep- tions to this rule, but to go into detailed explanations would take unnecess- ary space. Most persons are aware when the atmosphere is abnormally dry or humid and will take precautions accordingly. Besides, the evaporation that must take place, to make a successful hatch, is not confined to such a narrow limit that we need be afraid of erring much if we are observant. THE BEST WAY TO APPLY MOISTURE. Is perhaps, in hot-air incubators, evaporating pans under the egg trays, suf- ficiently far below the trays so as not to be exposed to greater heat than be- tween 80 and 90 deg., but the construction of the incudator must be consid- ered in this connection. There is, however, little danger of too much mois- ture from water exposed to only 80 deg. Where sand is used in egg trays it may be moistened, whenever it is desired to add to the humidity of the air, and it is a very good way. If lamps in hot-air incubators are so constructed as to hold water on the top of the oil-tank, then that will both make the lamp safer and add sufficient moisture to the incubator for the first week or two, if not run above 103 deg. In hot-water incubators, water cups or wet sponges for the last week is usually all that is required if any moisture is required at all before eggs begin to chip. But the cups should be in the trays or on the same level. It is not good practice to put the cups on the hot pipes or tanks. Finally, I will say that too much moisture is usually applied by beginners. According to my observation whenever chicks become glued to the shell after pipping it is a sign that too much moisture has been given or the temperat- ure has been too low. If the atmosphere has been too dry chicks will be apt to die in the shell before pipping, but of course, that is not the only cause for dying in the shell before pipping. Impure air, weak stock, too much heat or generally poor management of the incubator may bring about the same re- sults. THE EFFECTS OF IMPROPER MOISTURE. If the proper amount of evaporation has taken place, all the fluids sur- rounding the chick and not absorbed by it, has been reduced to the appear- ance of a colorless mucuous membrane or lining, which does not stick to the chick at all, but from which it emerges clean and free. If from insufficient evaporation a proper reduction and thickening of this matter has not taken place it is too soft and plentiful to hold together, it does not separate freely from the chick, and when the chick chips the shell, allowing air to come in contact wlth it, being of a very glutinous nature, it dries and glues the chick 15 to the shell so it: can not move, and it perishes if not helped out. Whon helped out successfully, the chick will still be covered with this sticky matter, which dries quickly and plasters the down onto the body, a condition so well known to all who have hatched chicks by incubators. When this state of affairs exists it is best to keep the air in the incubato; pretty well saturated with moisture, and kept shut as muchas possible. This prevents, to some extent, a too rapid drying, thus giving the chick a chance to get out of the shell before being dried on to it. At the same time it is just such hatches which need fresh air, as the air becomes very offensive during the process of incubation. A better plan is, therefore, if it can be done, to keep the room wherein the incubator is, warm and damp, The incubator can then be opened more free- ly and chicks helped out as soon as itis seen they can not get out without help: Toolow a temperature throughout the hatch also prevents sufficient evaporation and the result is similar. If the eggs, during incubation, have been exposed to too much heat and dry air, this mucuous lining becomes too dry, sothe chick can not move around freely and at last not at all, when it can eee chip, usually dying in the shell just ready to chip it. TURNING AND COOLING THE EGS. Asa rule, turning the eggs twice a day is recommended, not that such fre- quent turning, in itself, seems necessary or likely is, but in turning the eggs one has the opportunity to change the position of the eggs, whichis of ad- vantage if there is any difference in the temperature of the egg chamber. How little turning will suffice I am not able to say, because 1 have never neglected the turning so much that any harm seemed to have come from it. I make a practice of heating the incubator well before putting in the eggs, and then turn them about twelve hours after, or sooner if the temperature has reached 100 degrees or over. Inturning them then, and indeed during the first week, I make ita point not to let the eggs cool down more than I can possibly help, My reason for turning the eggs so soon is, that there is considerable differ- ence in the degree of heat between the under and upper side of the eggs, as most incubators supply heat only from above. It, therefore, appears to me _ that frequent turning, if of benefit, is especially so in the beginning of the hatch. The difference of heat between the upper and under side grows less, gradually. As the chick develops, the necessity for turning diminishes in proportion. During the first week I cool the eggs as little as possible, because, as said at the beginning of this treatise on artificial incubation, the slowness with which eggs get heated up when placed in the incubator, and every time they are cooled off, is the greatest fault of the incubator. For this reason I take care not to cool the eggs much at first. During the latter part of the hatch I make it a point to cool the eggs down to 75 or 80 deg., at least every other day, and my reason for this is, that the cooling and reheating of the eggs is in itself a necessity, in order to assist the embryo in getting fresh air. In cooling the eggs the contents naturally contract, and, by so doing, air is forced into the aitspace from without. In reheating the eggs air is again forced out. By this process a fresh air circulation is forced to take place. 16 With the temperature always at the same degree, it is quite likely that altogether too little circulation of air takes place in the egg, and the most prolific cause of dying in the shell is from lack of pure air. If we could heat the eggs after each cooling as quickly as a hen does, and - without exposing them to excessively hot air, I would recommend a daily cooling from, say, the fifth day. This we can not do with any incubator, as made at present, and for that reason we must be satisfied with less cooling. Each operator must try to find the correct middle way. Ican only point out the dangers of the extremes, and have given my ‘“‘middle way”’ as suits my ‘location and incubator. Since we can not assist the chick in getting as much fresh air as it ought to have by the frequent cooling, as pointed out, and which it gets under hens it will be seen that my recommendation to have the air in the egg chamber always as fresh as possible, consistent with even heat and no strong currents, is based upon my belief that no good opp oHaeay for supplying the paneo with fresh air must be neglected. ABOUT THE EGGS USED FOR INCUBATORS. Taking foi granted that we are not, in all details, able to do as well with artificial as natural incubation it follows that we must try to have the condi- tions we are able. to control in as perfect a state as possible. Important as the proper regulation of heat and moisture and judicious cooling are, the most important thing after all is that of the eggs used. With first-class eggs good results with indifferent management of the in cubator is far more certain than the very best management of the very best iucubator with indifferent eggs. To have eggs in the best possible condition itis necessary to have good, healthy, robust stock, well and generously fed and with a proper proportion of males. If the stock is confined in yards it is important to feed a varied diet. Green food and meat, as well as grain- should be fed and a chance for necessary exercise, if the yards are very smal, must not be overlooked any more than the other requirements necessary for vigorous health, With unrestricted run fowls will keep in proper condition with far less attention and it is to be recommended wherever practicable. The proper proportion of males to females depends somewhat on breed. In the Mediterranean class less roosters are needed than in most other classes, and in allitis thought necessary to have more males when confined than with free range, the males being less vigorousin confinement. With all Leg- horns, Minorcas or other bieeds of the Mediterranean class one male to fif- teen hens is sufficient, if in open range and the males not too young nor too old. In this class the males are, as arule, in their best condition when one and two years old, After that the males are not always so reliable, especially where there has been much chance of fighting, to which the males of these breeds are much giyen, and which seems to sap their strength. The eggs from hens after the second year though much decreased in num- ber are still as good as ever for hatching, Eggs from immature pullets are not to be recommended. It may be said that the fresher the eggs the better, still, if kept in a cooland even temperature of about 40 to 50 degrees, eggs will keep in good condition for hatching quite along time. They must not be kept at a temperature as low as 35 degrees, and the more it is above 45 the shorter will be the time they retain their vitality. ee a ee ee ee ae 17 TESTING THE EGGS. It is quite impossible to say whether an egg is fertile or not until it has been in the incubator for at least two full days, On the third day in bright light one can tell pretty well, if the shells are white. In dark shelled eggs -one can not see the veins in all eggs before the fourth or fifth day. The best _ light for testing is sun light. If one has asunny window where the sun can shine on the egg as it is held to the tester, it is an easy thing to distinguish a living egg from a dead one. If the room can be nearly darkened and the sun shines on a window, by covering the window with a blanket or curtain, in which is made a uole the size of an egg, the test can be made by simply hold- ing the egg against the hole. If the eggs must be tested by lamplight a sim- ple tester is made by nailing four boards, six or eight inches wide, together like a tube, making it long enough so the tube is twelve inches above where the flame of the lamp, which is placed inside, will be, and just opposite the flame cut an oval hole the size of an egg. Stretch two thin wires in front of the hole the lower one one-half inch and the upper one one anda half inch from the tube, in such a manner that they serve as a support for. the egg, while being held before the hole. Ifa mirror is placed back of the flame so - much more light will be thrown toward the hole. The simplest daylight tester is made by simply rolling some stiff paper or pliable cardboard into a tube eight or ten inches long and a little smaller in diameter than an egg. But, as only one eye can be used with such a tester, some will prefer one by which both eyes can be used. By cutting a piece of leather or pliable paste- board the proper shape in the manner shown, so that it will fit the face when folded and exclude the light, a very convenient tester is made. fj ft Wf il ol ne Hh Ha ale ] i tae SSS SS _ SEVERAL KINDS. OF EGG TESTERS. All eggs in which no veins are visible on the fifth day are good and can be removed. Many of the eggs removed will be nearly clear, showing only a faint cioud, which does not move about freely. Such eggs were not fertile or had lost their vitality before being put in. They can be used for culinary purposes as they are not altered in any way. 1f, however, there is any blood - forwed or the cloud (or yolk) looks dark or is floating about freely, the egg is unfit for kitchen use. It had been fertile, life had started in it and died, It takes some practice to be able to tell the difference. when testing such eggs, but witha good light it can very well be done and good eggs be saved. On the tenth to fifteenth day the eggs should be tested again so as to get all dead eggs removed from the incubator. 18 ABOUT THERMOMETERS, Thermometers should be reliable; if it is not known that they are correct it is an easy matter to find out, by simply standing them together with one known to be correct in a vessel with water, so the bulbs are all on a level, then slowly heat the water and watch them well when the 103 deg. is reached. Let the water go some degrees higher, again noting the difference, if any, of the thermometers. A thermometer not registering correctly is only danger- ous when it is supposed to be correct. If the fault is known the operator allows for the variation, whichis always thesame. Thermometers should be placed on the eggs, the bulbs touching them. During the latter half of the hatch it should be seen to that the thermometer does not rest on dead eggs. It is always preferable to have more than one thermometer in the incubator THE HEAT OF THE INCUBATOR, Whether to make the heat of the eggs be 103 deg. with less cooling or 104 with more cooling, is best determined by the operator, some prefering the one way and others the other. It may be said that during the last week it need cause no alarm if the thermometer runs up to 105 or 106 deg. for a while. It should not remain too long so, and when noticed it is well to take the eggs - out for a cooling. That cooling of the eggs is necessary I have shown, and also why we can not cool as much as we ought to. It should be remembered, that it is the eggs and not the incubator we desire to cool. The incubator should lose as little of its heat as possible, not only for economic reasons, but because the eggs should be reheated as quick- ly as possible without exposing them toa very hot blast. In reheating the eggs, the temperature of the egg chamber should not be excessively high, even if it is desirable to reheat quickly, but when for some reason, (as when the eggs have become quite cold from some accident), it becomes necessary to have a high temperature in the egg chamber, the air should be made as humid as possible. In heating the eggs the first time a moist atmosphere is far better also, as it tempers the bad effect of too high a temperature, which one is apt to have. A correspondent of mine makes it a practice to wet the sand in his trays with hot, nearly boiling, water when filling his incubator. He always has good tests and hatches. As this agrees with my observations that eggs placed on moist sand give better tests than on dry sand, I experi- mented also with sand made nearly wet with hot water and found the tests better than where the sand had been moistened with water not heated. In speaking of better tests I mean that I got less of what careless observers call infertile eggs, which proved that less germs were destroyed when the air > was thoroughly saturated with moisture, even though the air of the incubator was very hot, in fact very few germs were destroyed, and the eggs which were clear were nearly all really infertile. Unless moisture is added, itis better to have less heat, not more than 108 deg., even if the eggs heat up slower. I will now briefly : cbbepat ive the main points about incubation. In nat- ural incubation the principal points are: good hens, freedom from lice and proper quarters, for the sitting hen. In artificial incubation a well regulated 19 incubator, an attendant fally understanding the effects of temperature, espec- ially in so far as to know, that as a rule the higher the temperature the more moisture must be supplied, that the air must always be supplied with suffi- cient moisture to prevent a too rapid evaporation from the egg, and at the Same time not be so saturated with moisture as to prevent the necessary evaporation; to also take in consideration, that when eggs are being heated, either when first put in or after a severe cooling, the air, in order to bring the eggs up to the proper heat in a reasonable time, is considerably above the degree indicated by the thermometer, and moisture to be used accordingly. And finally I will add that in my judgment it is far better for the operator to get used to rely upon his own judgment than to depend upon hydrometers to regulate the moisture. SINGLE COMB BROWN. LEGHORNS. . - CALIFORNIA INCUBATORS Pet] DE 90 Per Cent SED Ton -CATPLeCute! G.| Fo —— é —S4le MAST STOCK. | - THE STOCKTON INCUBATOR has the ? latest improvements, the most perfect sel f-regulator. It 1s impossible to overheat the eggs. A perfect dis- tribution of heat, moisture and ventilation. No ex- : perience required to run it as now constructed, and | The Best IS th € Che apesi ; they are giving universal satisfaction. Send for our 50-page PRICE LIST. ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE 120 Egg Capacity....$20 00 ... 25 00 Before Purchasing. —— a 480 Egg Capacity...$ 45 600 as a 50 1000 ‘ a as AO 180 _ 240 “ 7a ... 3000 STOCKTON INCUBATOR Company, | GEO. H. CROLEY, 34114 Main Street, STOCKTON, CAL, 417 SACRAMENTO STREET, S. F. dubilee Hatcher—New Model. JUBILEE HATCHER. A.W. BESSEY. ORANGE. CAL. (=i a ; ra = lS ‘ “ ¥ 53 a ee Re ae eS a a ne. j= 7 of SOO-Ess Machine. - mt rat Pamala h he best? The late im- Do you want an Incubator ? provements on the JUBILEE. makes it head the list. It has new features not to be found in any other machine. The New Mode! is a perfect self-regulating Hot Water machine, with copper boilers and an entirely f new system of operation, The chicks can be removed from the machine without opening the egg-chamber. It will pay you to investigate before you buy. Manufactured by A. W. BESSEY, Orange, California. DOO) L© OO LO OO: OE LELOE Ere CoE eee sank ©Oo® 5 © 8 eo ROCIO @ he Petaluma Incubators and Brooders have long been the leading and popular machines. In accordance with the spirit of progress maintained for the past fourteen years we have again made improvements which are recognized as superior to anything heretofore put upon the market. We are the Pioneer makers of Incubators and Brooders and have sold more than all others combined on the Pacific Coast. Added improvements although increasing the cost of manufact- uring has not prevented us from reducing our prices so that the — Petaluma Incubators and Brooders are the cheapest machines now sold, quality of material nsed, workmanship and efficiency being considered, It is true there are machines advertised at prices a little lower thanours. Do not confound the Petaluma with the poorly constructed and inferior material machines. Heaters, The interior of our heaters are made of copper, and #* other parts of the best galvanized iron, so that a machine prop- erly cared for will last a lifetime. The Petaluma has been awarded more premiums in com- petition than any other Incubator, and has not only been ex- hibited at many of the State and District Fairs but at the great World’s Fair,, Chicago; the California Midwinter Exposition, San Francisco and at the Antwerp (Belgium) Exposition, besides at the London Aquarium, London, England; the Zoological Gar- dens, Amsterdam, Holland, and many other places of prominence; and has more gold and silver medals, a greater number of encon- iums from the Press of the World; and the largest percentages in hatching to its credit. The Petaluma is the cheapest (if the best is the cheapest). Uses the least oil. Consumes the léast time in taking care of it. The most perfect in regulation of temperature. Can be left alone the longest with safety. Has nothing to get out of order. Eggs turned instantly. Lightestin weight, hence lowest freight charge. Hatches the largest percentage of good, strong, vigorous chicks, Is the easiest to manage and the best machine for beginners as well as those of long experience. Our illustrated Catalogue gives full information regarding our Incubators and Brooders, and large line of Poultry Supplies, mailed free, PETALUMA INCUBATOR CO. Petaluma, California. OS OSOOLS3OO0F® Scerawoete ® 302 I@@ra’ @s @9@VIEQ 62294 O! 3395333 a I@@XBIxIQo*s aa t) PEW) @@ @, io ( ( EY WUT Wie We lr We Ye lr We Wek NC ede. VNC @ CnC @T@sv@ 33 o@ @ ad mac) @ @%9 @ 9 @e@- @ @@ege Cae @ @VI@6e@a'G % 3® to @\ ga08 ¢ @¢ O@Q9 302893 @@IG@ C r) ry, ry rye) 99 ti ACY © ne Oe @2 p fc) @z 80. 53008. = O26:00® SSS ees “ Je eel Nee + 2 ae F ie ry tak Ned yt ae “ Poa Ly ; Edm bt bas " wrt ite a Pd aa"? < ¥ ; { ‘ - v4 A 4 ahs ee Benin