The travels of Monsieur de Thevenot into the Levant. In three parts Viz. Into. I. Turkey. II. Persia. III. The East-Indies / Newly done out of French [by A. Lovell].

  • Thévenot, Jean de, 1633-1667.
Date:
1687
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The travels of Monsieur de Thevenot into the Levant. In three parts Viz. Into. I. Turkey. II. Persia. III. The East-Indies / Newly done out of French [by A. Lovell]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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194/680 (page 144)
CHAP. XL Of the Ovens that hatch Chickens. ALL that I have related hitherto, are fuch things as may be daily feen, and whoever Travels into that Countrey, may fee them at his leifure, when he thinks fit. But there are alfo feveral other curious things that are cafual and temporary -, and others again, which yearly happen but at fuch a time and feafon. I ihall relate what I have leen of both, according to the order of time they happen in, and I faw them. The firft of thefe extraordi¬ nary things I few at Caire, was the artificial way of hatching Chickens j one would think it a Fi&le, at firft, to fay that Chickens are hatch’d, without Hens fitting upon the Eggs *, and a greater, to fay, that they are fold by the Buffieb Neverthelefs both are true, and for that effedt, they put their Eggs in Ovens, The mariner which they heat with fo temperate a warmth, which imitates fo well the of the Ovens natural heat, that Chickens are formed and hatched in them. Thefe Ovens for hatching are jn a jow p]ace, and in a manner under ground y they are made of Earth, of Chickens. roun(i wjthin, the Hearth or Floor of them being covered all over with Tow or Flocks to put the Eggs upon. There are in all twelve of thefe Ovens, fix on each fide in two ranks or ftories, there being two ftories on each fide, and three Ovens in each ftorie. Thefe two fides are feparated by a Street or Way, through which they who work in them (who are all Coûtes) and thofe that come to fee them, pafs. They begin to heat their Ovens about the middle of February, and continue to do fo for aimoft four months fpace. They heat them How the O- with a very temperate heat, only of the hot afhes of Oxen and Camels-dung, or vens àre hea- the which they put at the mouth of each Oven, and daily change it, put- ted* ting freffi hot dung into the fame place. This they do for the fpace of ten days,and then lay the Eggs upon the Tow and Flocks that are within the Ovens, ranking them all round } and they’ll put about eight thoufand in an Oven. After twelve days time that the Eggs have been there, the Chickens are hatch’d, and come out} fo that the time of heating the Ovens, and the time the Eggs have been in them, make in all two and twenty days : But it is pleafant to fee thefe Chickens, in one fide fome thrufting out their heads, others ftri- ving and ftruggling to get out their bodies, and others again (which on the other fide are quite out of the Ihell) tripping up and down upon the reft of the Eggs ; for if you ftay there but the leaft, you’ll fee all thefe progrelfes. When they are all hatched, they gather them up, meafure them in a Buffiel that wants a bottom, and fell them by that meafure to all that pleafe to buy, and then divide the profit betwixt the Owners and theMafters of the Ovens. During the four months that they plie this bufinefs, they ufe above three hundred thou¬ fand Eggs, but all do notfucceed. Such as have a very nice palate, think that thefe Pullets are not fo good as thofe which are hatched by a Hgn, but the dif¬ ference is but little, or rather it is only in fancy *, and it is ftill very much to imitate Nature fo near. Many think that this cannot be done but in vFjrypt, becaufe of the warmth of the Climate -, but the Great Duke of Florence having lent for one of thefe Men, he hatched them afwel there as in lÆgyyt : The fame alfo (as I was told) had been done in Poland ^ and I certainly believe it may be done any where, provided it bedn fome place under ground,where no Air comes in -,but the great difficulty is to proportion the heat to fuch a temperate degree, that there be neither too much nor too little, either of which would prove unfuccesful.