In breeding birds for exhibition the number of hens to one cock should not exceed four or five, but if only two or three hens of the breed are possessed, the proper number of his harem should be made up by the addition of hens of another breed, those being chosen whose eggs are easily known from the others. If it is intended to rear the chickens for exhibition at the June, July, or August shows, the earlier they are hatched the better, and therefore a sitting should be made in January, if you have a young, healthy hen broody. Set her on the ground in a warm, sheltered, and quiet place, perfectly secure from rain, or from any flow of snow water. Feed her well, and keep water and small quantities of food constantly within her reach, so that she may not be tempted to leave the nest in search of food; for the eggs soon chill in winter. Mix the best oatmeal with hot water, and give it to her warm twice a day. A few grains of hempseed as a stimulant may be given in the middle of the day. The great difficulty to overcome in rearing early chickens is to sustain their vital powers during the very long winter nights, when they are for so many hours without food, the only substitute for which is warmth, and this can only be well got from the hen. Consequently a young Cochin-China with plenty of "fluff" will provide most warmth. The hen should not be set on more than five, or at most seven eggs; for if she has more, although she may sufficiently cover the chickens while very small, she will not be able to do so when they grow larger, and the outer ones will be chilled unless they manage to push themselves into the inside places, and then the displaced chickens being warm are sure to get more chilled than the others; and so the greater number of the brood, even if they survive, will probably be weakly, puny things, through the greedy desire to rear so many, while if she hatch but five chickens she will probably rear four. The hen should be cooped until the chickens are at least ten weeks old, and covered up at night with matting, sacking, or a piece of carpet.