43 common with the natural sitter. The inabiUty to keep laying hens to supply the necessary eggs for hatching need not stand in the way, as eggs can be secured from those specialising in eggs for hatching purposes, put into the machines, and transformed into chickens, which will, when disposed of as " day-olds," produce a good profit. Those who keep fowls solely for the production of eggs for table use might make more out of their poultry-keeping were they to take up artificial hatching and turn such eggs into live chickens. The day-old chicken trade is at its height in the spring, at a time when eggs for eating are at their lowest market value. One hundred eggs sold at such a time for edible use would realise somewhere about 8s. Placed in an incubator, should such a number of eggs produce but sixty chicks, they would be worth anything from 25s. to 35s., according to their breed and quality. Deduct from this the amount, 2s., for oil used in operating the incubator, and there is still left a splendid profit if the produce can be disposed of locally without the aid of advertising. Suppose, however, that it be necessary to advertise and pack the produce, it is still possible to see a profit of 100 per cent, or more, and a reliable loo-egg incubator, costing about £^, will soon repay its cost; HOW TO START A BUSINESS Again, it does not need much accommodation or a large amount of capital to commence in the day-old chicken business. All that is essential to success is a spare room or cellar, well ven- tilated, but free from draughts, and a firm table on which to stand the incubator. The maximum outlay lies in the securing of a good, reUable machine. This should cost about £4. A more elaborate machine is quite unnecessary; it may cost double that amount, but it is no more efficient in operation than the cheaper article. Low- priced machines, however, advertised by people who have no reputation in the in- cubator trade should be avoided carefully. On the average, half an hour a day is all the attention which a machine requires. From ten to twenty minutes should be spent in airing and turning the eggs each morning, and from five to ten minutes in attending to eggs and trimming the lamp each evening. Egg-testing on the seventh day will occupy the operator an extra ten minutes only, as egg-testing can proceed while the eggs are airing. When the chickens hatch out, they will simply need trans- ferring from the incubator drawer to the drying chamber ; and when thoroughly dry it will be necessary, if they have to travel to customers at a distance, to pack them in a travelUng-box. This consists of a box sufficiently large and deep to accommodate comfortably one dozen chickens. A bedding of soft hay is laid in the bottom of the Vx)x, and on this the chickens are placed. Travelling'box for the chicks WOMAN'S WORK Then a piece of flannel, or other fabric of a soft nature, is tacked to the upper edges of the box in such a manner as to allow the material to rest loosely upon the backs of the inmates. The Ud is then fixed in posi- tion, and secured by means of a couple of fine screws, a label plamly indicating the nature of the contents being affixed. The best way to send is by a fast passenger train, and the buyer should be notified beforehand of the time of departure, so that the train may be met on its arrival. It is also as well to advise the buyer to be prepared for the re- ception of the chicks by having a reliable broody hen or a foster mother in readiness and to feed the little mites, when thoroughly warmed, with a little biscuit meal soaked in warm milk. The chickens cost nothing in the way of food from the time they emerge from the shells until they reach their destination, as nature provides the newly-hatched chicken with sufficient nourishment to sustain it for forty-eight hours ; and during that time it will, if properly packed, travel a considerable distance in safety. The whole secret of dealing successfully with chickens intended for transit hes in getting them thoroughly dry, and packing and putting them on rail as quickly as possible. AN OCCUPATION SUITABLE FOR WOMEN The newly-hatched chicken trade, there- fore, entails no work of a laborious nature, and is associated with no duties that the willing hands and minds of women cannot perform. In recommending this industry to women, however, a word of caution is necessary. If the operation of one incubator can be made to pay, it does not follow that half-a-dozen machines in the initial stages of the business will result in six times the amount of income. A business connection has first to be made, and it would be extremely unwise to have several hundreds of newly- hatched chickens on hand and no market in readiness for them. The best way to secure that market is to advertise in the poultry papers, and to what extent this is done depends, of course, upon the resources at one's command, but these papers usually have a special tariff for this class of business, a small prepaid advertisement costing from sixpence upwards. One or two machines should be secured to start with, and as the sales increase the hatching plant may be increased accord- ingly. Incubators, like the natural sitter, need under- standing, and one or two machines are quite sufficient to operate until the working of an incubator is thoroughly understood. Poultry Farming will be fully dealt with in Every Woman's ENCYCLOPiEOiA.
