On large poultry farms, eggs are produced and handled very much as the product of any other factory—the poultry man knows his cost of production by dozen or case, the operative cost, etc., etc., just as does his contemporary in any other line of business —but the greater part of the country's egg supply is still represented by accumulations from thousands of general farmers scattered all over the country.
"The history of one of these farm eggs reads like 'a gathering of the clans.' The hen that laid it may be the property of a small farmer in a Western state, located fifty or a hundred miles from the nearest good-sized town. The egg is one of a dozen that the farmer takes to the nearest village store and either sells for a small sum of money or barters for sugar, calico, tobacco or some other commodity that he needs more than he needs eggs.
"Other farmers in the neighborhood are doing the same and the store is thus the recruiting station for a goodly company of eggs that must necessarily find a market somewhere else. These eggs are sent to a larger center, where they pass into the con trol of a large, or small, shipper who mobilizes them, to continue the figure, no longer by companies but by battalions, regiments and armies i. e., carloads.
"When the shipper has a carload of eggs ready for the eastern market, he tele graphs the fact to an eastern dealer. A certain amount of dickering goes on over the wire, and the eggs are finally sent East. The eggs are not though for immediate con sumption, hence the necessity for the refrigerator car and the storage warehouse to retain the condition in which they were purchased.
"Comparatively few eggs are found to be bad, and all shipments are now sold 'at mark,' a technical way of saying that a case of eggs at wholesale is supposed to be with in a small percentage of the requirements or standard of each grade, and there is no rebate for damaged eggs. Formerly there was a rebate during a part of the year that was called the 'loss off' season, because a certain percentage of the eggs were not expected to come up to the standard of the various grades.
"There are very disputes between shippers and dealers that are not settled peaceably between the persons directly concerned, but occasionally they form the basis of expert examination by either the Chamber of Commerce or Fruit and Produce Exchange inspectors, sometimes indeed getting as far as the Arbitration Committee." There is a wide difference in the weight of eggs—although all cooking receipts say "take two eggs," or whatever number seems suitable, without any allowance for variations in size! The breeds that lay the largest eggs, averaging seven to a pound, are the Black Spanish, Light Brahma, Houdan, La Fleche, and Creve Coeur. Eggs of medium size and weight, averaging eight or nine to a pound, are laid by the Leghorn, Cochin, Minorca, Red Cap, Poland, Dorking and Games. Hamburg eggs average about ten to the pound. There is this a. difference of three eggs in one pound weight. The average weight of twenty eggs laid by different breeds is pounds.
The most popular types of fowls for egg-producing are Leghorns, Minorcas, Black Spanish, Hamburgs and Red Caps, their average total output being larger than from other varieties.
The size of the egg varies also with the care and treatment of the fowls. Those from the South formerly averaged small for all breeds, but a marked improvement has been noticeable during recent years.
A bulletin of the North Carolina station of the U. S. Department of Agriculture gives the following figures as the results of tests made to ascertain the comparative values of eggs from a number of Southern-bred standard fowls, both as pullets and mature hens.
The first named type, Single Comb Brown Leghorn Pullets, is taken as the start ing point—the eggs from the others following being found of higher food value to the extent of the percentage named. For example, if eggs from the Single Comb Brown Leghorn Pullets were at that time worth 30 cents a dozen, those from Single Comb Brown Leghorn Hens were worth 20% more, or 36 cents a dozen, and those from the Light Brahma Hens, 60% more, were worth 48 cents a dozen.
These averages are subject to variations as a result of differences in feeding and locality.
By far the greater part of the eggs held over for future use are kept in condition in cold storage, but when this is impossible they may be preserved by immersion in a solu tion of water-glass (Sodium and Potassium Silicate). Experiments, both in a practical way and in laboratories, have demonstrated that a 10% solution of water-glass will preserve them so effectively that even at the end of three or four months they will appear fresh. In most packed eggs, the yolk soon settles to one side, and the egg is then inferior in quality, but in those preserved for three and a half months in water-glass, the yolk retained its normal position. One gallon of the solution is sufficient for fifty dozen eggs if they are properly packed.
Eggs varnished with vaseline or preserved in limewater also keep well but the former is too laborious and the latter sometimes communicates a disagreeable odor and taste.
Eggs in cold storage are held at temperature ranging between a little below and a little above the freezing point. They are seldom kept longer than six months, but under good conditions they will retain a fairly fresh flavor for a year or more, losing however in weight from the evaporation of the whites.
Eggs enter into commerce in many forms in addition to those in the shell—including whole eggs removed from the shell and stored in cans at a little below the freezing point. powdered yolks, crystallized whites, desiccated eggs, etc.
Large quantities of egg substitute are consumed in mining camps and desert regions. Some of these consist chiefly of starch, others are of animal origin. They are of varying degrees of value.
Fresh eggs should be kept in a dry, cool place free from any strong or objection able odor. If packed in salt or sawdust they will remain fresh longer than if exposed to the air.
(1) by placing them in cold water and gradually bringing it to a boil, removing them when the boiling point has been reached, or (2) by placing them in boiling water and then turning the gas flame out, or setting the pot well back on the range, removing the eggs in from seven to ten minutes. By either procedure, the white will be tender and jelly-like instead of the somewhat tough and leathery consistence of the ordinary boiled egg.