Some fanciers use artificial mothers, which effect the purpose of imparting the necessary heat to the young chicks after birth, when there is no natural mother nor a trained capon to brood them. These artificial mothers—as used by Mr. Moubray, and described by him— are boxes lined throughout with wool He recommends that a curtain of flannel should be suspended over the opening of the box for the exclusion of cold air.
Mr. Young states that " five broods may at once be cherished under an artificial mother. This mother may be framed of a board ten inches broad and fifteeu inches long, resting on two legs in front, two inches in height, and on two props behind, two inches also iu height. The board must be perforated with many small gimlet-holes, for the escape of the heated air, and lined with lamb's Akin dressed with the wool on, and the woolly side is to come in contact with the chickens. Over three of these mothers a wicker basket is to be placed for the protection of the chickens, four feet lung, two feet broad, and fourteen inches high, with a lid open, a wooden sliding bottom to draw out for cleaning, and a long narrow trough along the front, resting on two very low stools, for holding their food. Perches are to be fixed in the basket for the more advanced to roost on. A flannel curtain is to be placed in front, and at both ends of the mothers, for the chickens to run under, from which they soon learn to push outwards and inwards. These mothers, with the wicker baskets over them, are to be placed against a hot wall, at the back of the kitchen fire, or in any other warm situation where the heat shall not exceed 80 degrees of Fahrenheit.
" When the chickens are a week old, they are to be carried with the mother to a grass-plat for feeding, and kept warm by a tin tube filled with hot water, which will continue sufficiently warm for about three hours, when the hot water is to be renewed. Towards the evening the mothers are to be again placed against the hot wall." The artificial mother, however, ie only a mechanical house for chicks already hatched ; but the process of bringing the embryo of organised life in the egg through all tho stages of the vital principle until it becomes matured, by means of heated ovens, has been long and success fully practised in Eisrpt.
These ovens, which are constructed with bricks, are about nine feet high, with galleries extending through the whole leugth,and containing chambers into which a man can creep through a very contracted orifice for the purpose of depositing the eggs, which are laid, to the amount of several thousands, on mats or beds of flax over the brick floors. The heat is conveyed through fire-places, and the material of the slow fires, which are most effective, is the dung of cows or camels combined with straw. The fires are kept up for as many days (according to the temperature of the weather) as are sufficient to impart such a degree of heat as will continue to the expiration of the twenty-one days required for the hatching of chickens, care being taken to confine the warmth by closing up all the orifices communi cating with the external air. One hundred millions of chickens are said to be thus annually produced in Egypt. For the details and
statistics on this interesting subject, see the Domestic Habits of Birds, Library of Entertaining Knowledge,' p. 138.
31. Reaumur made various experiments in hatching with fermenting dung in hotbeds, but unsuccessfully; life was developed, but never matured; the chicks were in some cases even feathered, but long before the full time they lost vitality. He succeeded at length, "after trials enough to wear out the most enduring patience," with an oven free from the influence of the vapour exhaled from the dung, which in the previous experiments had been destructive of the embryo. He afterwards succeeded to a great degree by using a box or shelves over an oven, with due regard to uniformity of temperature. Several of the eggs in this latter case were hatched on the twentieth day, by which the usual course of nature was anticipated by one day. But though artificial hatching has long been practised with success in Egypt, it has not been found worth the expense and trouble in France, from the variableness of temperature there compared with that in the Delta, where, in the autumnal season, when the mamals (hatching ovens) are used, it is remarkably steady and extremely warm. • As the attempt to pursue the Oriental system has failed in France, there is no probability of its succeeding in the climate of Great Britain ; but it by no means follows that success may not attend such management as will obviate the obstructions which arise from irregu larities of temperature. The object was indeed attained some years ago by means of the application of the Eccaleobion (from 'Esscoace, " I call forth," and Bros, " life ") machinery exhibited in London by Mr. Bucknell, the inventor and proprietor. .According to Mr. Bucknell, his eccaleobion possessed a perfect and absolute command over temperature from 300 degrees of Fahrenheit to that of cold water ; so that any substance submitted to its influence would be uniformly acted upon over its whole surface at any required intermediate degree within the above range, and such heat maintained unaltered, without trouble or difficulty, for any length of time : and " by means of this absolute and complete command over the temperature obtained by this machine, the impregnated egg of any bird, not stale, placed within its influence at the proper degree of warmth, is, at the expiration of its natural time, elicited into life, without the possibility of failure, which is sometimes the case with eggs subjected to the caprice of their natural parent." That chickens were thus hatched in considerable numbers is unquestionable, many thousands having been brought into exist ence by this single eccaleobion machine; nor was any difficulty found in the subsequent rearing of those chickens when proper yards and suitable temperature were provided, more than in the natural way; indeed in some respects less so, as the losses sustained in poultry by the sudden changes of the weather, and the influence of dampness in particular, and accidents from various causes, are very considerable. But probably, from not proving sufficiently economical for commercial purposes, the machine does not appear to have come into use.