436 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



Bad eggs are due to climatic conditions, careless or delib- 

 erately bad marketing and poor care of poultry on the farm. 

 Keeping eggs in damp quarters tends to develop mold spots 

 and musty eggs. The storing of eggs in rooms having strong 

 odors will cause the eggs to take up these odors, and often 

 accounts for the bad flavor of eggs. 



Eggs for the market should weigh pne and one-half pounds 

 per dozen. They should be uniform in size and color, should 

 be naturally cleaned, not washed; should be strong-shelled, 

 not cracked; should be fresh, not over five days old; should 

 be laid in clean nests; when weather is warm they should be 

 gathered daily — twice, if possible; should be placed in a cool, 

 clean, dry place away from flies; should never be sold from 

 stolen nests. 



CAUSES OF BAD EGGS. 



A summary of the losses in eggs is given in Circular 11 of 

 the Bureau of Animal Industry as follows: 



Dirties 2 per cent 



Breakage 2 per cent 



Chick development 5 per cent 



Shrunken or held eggs 5 per cent 



Rotten eggs 2 J per cent 



Moldy or bad flavored eggs i per cent 



The farmer is responsible for a large portion of this loss. 

 Some farmers think of collecting eggs only when a trip to town 

 is to be made. In many instances eggs from stolen nests, if 

 whole-shelled, probably find their way to market. The house- 

 wife holds the eggs where it is most convenient, usually in a 

 hot kitchen, which hastens deterioration. Often, too, the eggs 

 are held until the basket is full or the price may go up. In a 

 study of egg marketing conditions by the bureau of chemistry 

 Miss Pennington found that the losses from rots and other 

 total loss was: 



June 3.1 per cent 



July 2 . 79 per cent 



August 3.43 per cent 



September 4 . 03 per cent 



October 4.47 per cent 



November 8.33 per cent 



That same year, in October, eggs brought to the country 

 storekeepers from the farms would grade on the Chicago 

 market: 



Firsts 25 per cent ' 



Seconds 60 per cent 



Cracked 5 per cent 



Rotten 4 per cent 



