1396 The Cornell Reading-Courses 



cooking purposes, they may be tested the fourth or fifth day. Brown 

 eggs are less easily tested and it is usually advisable not to test them before 



the sixth or seventh day. 



For the best results, the eggs should 

 be tested first on the seventh day of 

 incubation and again on the four- 

 teenth day. A common method of 

 testing is illustrated in Fig. 30. If the 

 germs are strong and the eggs have 

 been properly incubated, only a few 

 dead germs should be found on the 



„ „ ,. ^ , , second test. It is better to do the 



riG. 30. — Testing eggs: i, Common tester; 



2, egg properly held; 3, incubator lamp; testmg at night unless the room can 

 4, untested eggs; 5, infertile eggs; 6, good ^^ darkened. A convenient movable 

 eggs 



room for day or night testing is 



easily constructed at a low cost, as follows: The framework may be made 



of 2 X 2 inch lumber, the sides and back covered with thin lumber down to 



about i^ inches from the floor and painted black on the inside; or heavy 



black cloth or paper may be used in place of the latter. Black cloth is 



preferable to lumber for covering the top, as the former will allow the heat 



to escape. The size of the room is governed by the space it is to occupy 



and by the size of the egg trays. A dark-colored window shade or black 



cloth should be hung in front. A hole a little smaller than an ordinary egg 



should be cut in the back, sufficiently high, and at the proper distance 



from the sides of the room, to be convenient in testing eggs held in the 



right hand. The work is less tiresome if this opening is directly opposite 



the right arm and as low as possible without causing the operator to 



stoop. A shelf for the egg trays should be placed inside, across the back, 



and another underneath to hold the baskets or trays for the tested eggs. 



On the outside of the back a third shelf must be provided, to hold the 



lamp that is used in testing. Any ordinary lamp that can be fitted 



with an egg tester will answer the purpose, provided it gives a good 



flame; or a " rochester burner " may be used without • the tester by 



placing asbestos between the testing room and the chimney. In case a 



tester is used, the front should be placed against the hole in the testing 



room. By placing casters on the four legs the testing room may be 



moved from one incubator to another, thus avoiding the extra labor of 



carrying the eggs to and from the tester. This arrangement will prove a 



decided advantage in connection with a large egg capacity, and testing 



may be done very well dtuing the daytime. The construction of this 



testing room is shown in Figs. 31, 32, and 33.* 



* Mr. Robert Herman, of Lakewood, N. J., originated a room very similar to the one here shown. 



