TRANSACTIONS OF STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 83 



Assorting and Grading Eggs. — This is done by candling and is a 

 trade. All large commission houses employ expert candlers. The 

 method consists in inclosing a gaslight in a metal box from which the 

 light is thrown as from a searchlight. The egg, held between the 

 thumb and forefinger, is placed in the light and turned round and 

 round and thoroughly inspected. 



A fresh egg presents a yellow glow; the shell is full, the yolk in the 

 middle, and the white is perfectly transparent. 



A second class egg is shrunken so as to leave an air chamber at the 

 small end. 



A third class egg is streaked with red, or the yolk seems to be 

 breaking up. 



A bad egg contains black spots; it is opaque, no light being visible 

 through its density. 



Storing Eggs. — An immense business is being done in storing eggs; 

 they are purchased when the market is low, only the cleanest and 

 freshest are selected, and after being candled are placed in new cases, 

 which are placed in storage rooms where a temperature of 31° Fahr. is 

 maintained. Kansas City alone stored about 1,500,000 eggs last year. 

 Pacific Coast cities are the recipients of hundreds of carloads of eggs, 

 and live and dressed poultry, representing expenditures of about $2,000 

 per car. 



Advice to Beginners. — Our universities are turning out hundreds of 

 intelligent young men each year. It is a puzzle to many of them what 

 shall be their chosen field of work. Particularly is this true of many 

 who are possessed of limited means and without influential friends to 

 assist them to a paying position. To these latter particularly I would 

 say: Study the science and art of incubation, brooding, and egg pro- 

 duction. There is no other industry which offers a more independent 

 and enjoyable way of earning a livelihood. Become a specialist in this 

 line; give the subject the same study and time that you would expend 

 in preparing for any other profession; study the experiences of others in 

 good poultry journals; learn how to produce first-class stock in every 

 way. Great success will be best attained by those who have a natural 

 love for and devotion to this kind of labor. 



At this time, when the nations are looking to the Orient for a market 

 for their manufactured products, it is a relief to the beginner to know 

 that there is no fear of this profession being overdone, as there is an 

 unlimited home market for poultry products. The demand is so much 

 greater than the supply that there need be no fear of an overproduction. 



General Advice. — The general advice of experienced specialists is: Buy 

 stock and save time, follow one line of breeding, and study the 

 methods of expert breeders; subscribe for one or more first-class poultry 



