easonable. An incubator holding about a hundred eggs will cost ten or
twelve dollars. There are many objections to incubators which we can
learn only from practical experience. We shall not average more than
50 per cent. hatches as a rule. That is to say, for every hundred eggs
we set we must not count on hatching more than fifty chicks.
Incubators are a constant care. The most important objection to an
incubator is that it is against the rules of most fire insurance
companies to allow it to be operated in any building that the
insurance policy covers. If the automatic heat regulator fails to work
and the heat in our incubator runs up too high we may have a fire. At
any rate, we shall lose our entire hatch. The latter is also true if
the lamp goes out and the eggs become too cool. I have made a great
many hatches with incubators of different makes and my experience has
been that we must watch an incubator almost constantly to have success
with it.

The sure way to hatch chickens is with a broody hen, but at the same
time incubators are perfectly satisfactory if run in a room where the
temperature does not vary much (a cellar is the best place). With an
incubator there is always a temptation to attempt to raise more
chickens than we can care for properly. Overcrowding causes more
trouble than any other one thing. It is better to have a dozen
chickens well cared for than a hundred that are neglected.

Eggs for incubators will cost about five dollars a hundred. Of course
if they are from prize-winning stock the cost will be several times
this amount. Before placing any eggs in an incubator it should be run
for two days to be sure that the heat regulator is in working order.
The usual temperature for hatching is 103 degrees and the machine
should be regulated for this temperature as it comes from the factory.
Full directions for operating, as well as a thermometer, will come
with the machine and should be studied and understood before we begin
to operate it. As the hatch progresses, the heat will "run up," as it
is called, and we shall need to understand how to regulate the
thermostat to correct this tendency toward an increased temperature.
The eggs in an incubator must be turned twice a day. To be sure that
we do this thoroughly it is customary to mark the eggs before we place
them in the machine. The usual mark is an "X" on one side of the egg
and an "O" on the other written in lead pencil. In placing the eggs in
the t