_MARKETING AND TESTING. In earlier times eggs, if sold at all, were marketed near the place where they were produced. Many are still sold in local markets; but with improved methods of transportation the market has been extended, and large quantities of eggs are shipped from the United States and Canada, not only to distant points in America, but to Eng land and more distant countries. For shipping long distances. there are special egg-cases. Eggs which are to be shipped. whether with or with out a special attempt at preservation, should be perfectly fresh, and should never be packed in any material which has a disagreeable odor. Micro-organisms enter the egg through the minute pores in the shell. and set up fermenta tion, which ruins the egg. In other words, it becomes rotten. The unpleasant odor of rotten eggs is due to the formation of sulphureted hydrogen. The normal egg-shell has a natural surface coating of mucilaginous matter. which hinders the entrance of these harmful organisms for a considerable time. If this coating be re moved or softened by washing or otherwise, the keeping quality of the egg is much diminished. If the process of hatching has begun, the flavor of the egg is also injured. There are many ways of testing the freshness of eggs which are more or less satisfactory. 'Candling' is one of the meth ods most commonly followed. The eggs, when held against a light in a suitable device, appear unclouded and almost translucent when fresh, and Ilark•eolored if they are addled. A dark spot may be observed if ineuhation has begun, which in creases in size according to the stage to which incubation has advanced. The age of eggs may approximately judged by taking advantage of the fact that, as they grow old, their den sity decrease, through evaporation of moisture. Aecording to Siebel. a new-laid egg placed in a vessel of brine made in the proportion of two ounce, of salt to one pint of water will at once sink to the bottom. An egg one day old will sink below the surface. but not to the bottom, while one three days old will swim just im mersed in the liquid. If more than three days old, the egg wiil float on the surface. the amount of shell exposed increasing with age; and if two weeks old. only a little of the shell will dip in the liquid.
Mullions OF PRESERVATION. Fresh eggs are preserved in a number of ways. which may. for convenience. he grouped under two general classes, which are often combined: (1) Use of low temperature, i.e. cold storage: and 121 ex cluding the air by coating, covering, or immers ing the eggs, sonic material or solution being used which may or may not be a germicide. The first method owes its value to the fact that micro-organisms, like larger forms of plant life. will not grow below a certain temperature, the necessary degree of cold varying with the species. It is stated by Siebel that, in practice in the United States. 32° to 33° F. is regarded as the
best temperature for storing eggs, although some American packers prefer 31° to 34'. English writers recommend a temperature of 40° to 45' as being equally satisfactory. Without doubt the amount of moisture in the air in the cold storage ehamber has an important bearing on this point. Eggs are generally placed in cold storage in April and the early part of May; if later than this time they do not keep well. They are seldom kept in storage longer than a year. Eggs which have been stored at a temperature of 30° must be used soon after removal from storage, while those stored at :35° to 40° will keep for a considerable time after removal from storage, and are said to have the flavor of fresh eggs. Stored eggs should he turned at least twice a week, to prevent the yolk from adhering to the shell. Eggs are sometimes removed from the shells and stored in bulk. usually on a com mercial scale in cans containing about fifty pounds each. The temperature recommended is about 30° F., a little below freezing. and it is said they will keep any desired length of time. They must be used soon after they have been removed from storage and have been thawed. The substances suggested and the methods tried for excluding air conveying micro-organisms into the egg, and for killing those already present. are very numerous. An old domestic method is to pack the eggs in oats or bran. Another. which has always had many advocates. consists in covering the eggs with lime-water. which may or may not contain salt. The results obtained by stud' methods are not by any means uniform. the eggs remain fresh and of good flavor, and at other times they spoil. A method of preserving eggs, which has recently been often used with much success, consists in pack ing them in carefully cleaned vessels of suitable shape. and covering them with a 10 per cent. solution of water-glass (sodium silicate or potas sium silicate). The shells of preserved in water-glass are apt to crack in boiling. but, it is stated, this may be prevented by puncturing the blunt end of the egg with a pin before put ting it into the water. In the East Indian Archi pelago salted ducks' eggs are au article of diet. the new-laid eggs having been packed for two or three weeks in a mixture of clay, brick-dust. and salt. They are eaten hard-boiled. In that region and in India, turtle-eggs are also pre served in salt. These products. while unusual, do not necessarily suggest an unpleasant article of diet. The same can hardly be said of a Chi nese product which has often been described. Ducks' eggs are buried in the ground for ten or twelve months, and undergo a peculiar fer mentation. The hydrogen sulphide formed breaks the shell mid escapes, Nvhile the egg be comes hard in texture. The final product, it is said, does not posses: a disagreeable odor or taste.