The last act of the chicken, before pipping the shell, is to absorb into its system the yolk of the egg, which supplies it with a sufficient amount of nourishment to last at least forty-eight hours. This supply of nourishment is what really makes possible the tremendous business carried on in “baby chicks.” But, as The Corning Egg Farm views it, the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should step in and stop this business. After exclusion is accomplished the chick is thoroughly exhausted, and for a number of hours, if left to its own devices, it lies in a deep sleep. Baby Chick Business Cruel Consider then the torture that this small animal is put through when it is taken out of the warm egg chamber, or nursery, as soon as it is dry enough, packed like a sardine in a box, and then hustled to an express office, placed on a train, and, by the swaying of the train, kept in constant motion. The sellers of day old chicks in many cases guarantee the arrival of the small “puff ball” alive. Unless the distance is extreme this is not such a difficult feat. They are alive on arrival, and perhaps continue to live in apparently fair strength for some days, but somewhere between the 7th and 10th days the mortality usually runs into such numbers that the purchaser finds the remaining number of youngsters has cost him about a dollar apiece. As the season advances many more of them drop off, one by one, from causes which, to the unsophisticated, are unknown. A short time ago a gentleman who has been engaged in the Baby Chick business for a number of years was making a call at The Corning Egg Farm, and expressed his regret at having placed an order with a breeder of White Rocks for eggs at too late a date to insure their delivery before the first day of May. The breeder, however, had offered him some day old chicks. Our amusement was considerable when he remarked that he would not accept a day old chick as a gift if he was expected to pay the expressage. The man who expects to procure strong, healthy youngsters would much better place his money in eggs for hatching, from reliable breeders, than to make himself a party to the suffering of these helpless mites. If the humane side of the argument does not appeal to him, certainly the money expended will. Correct records, on cards designed by us for the purpose, are kept on The Corning Egg Farm, showing the results from the incubators. These are filed, giving the Farm a record which, as the years go by, becomes invaluable, when planning for a year’s work in incubation.