678 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



follows: Granulated milk lot 8.87, milk albumin (narrower ratio) 13.38, milk 

 albumin (wider ratio) 13.69, cottonseed meal 8.64, gluten meal 7.26, animal 

 meal 10.07, and beef scrap 10.32 lbs. 



To compare beef scrap (in both large and small amounts), cottonseed meal, 

 and gluten meal, 4 lots of 21 Rhode Island Reds 4 weeks old were fed from 

 March 17 to May 19. The basal ration consisted of corn meal, wheat bran, 

 cracked corn, and was so varied that, with the same amount of protein fur- 

 nished by each concentrate, the nutritive ratio was about 1 : 3 in each case. 

 Ground bone, grit, charcoal, wood ashes, and rock salt were supplied ad libitum, 

 and a recorded amount of beets was fed daily. The beef scrap (lesser amount) 

 lot weighed 11.81 lbs. per 10 chicks, the lot fed beef scrap (larger amount) 

 12.52 lbs., that fed cottonseed meal S.09 lbs., and that fed gluten meal 8.17 lbs. 



The bulletin concludes with a digest of data in reference to the concentrates 

 used, in which their comparative merits are judged principally with reference 

 to the rapidity of growth, regardless of the amount of food consumed. Further 

 experiments with cottonseed meal are being made. 



Is the Ancona a mottled Leghorn or a distinct breed? F. L. Platt, R. W. 

 Van Hoesen and F, L. Sewell {Rel. Poultry Jour., 18 {1911), No. 6, pp. ITS, 

 822-82Jf, fig. 1). — A description of the characteristics and early history of this 

 little-known breed of fowls. 



The preservation of eggs, R. Berger (Jour. Indus, and EngUi. Chem., 3 

 {1911), No. 7, pp. 493-495; Reprint, pp. 4; Pure Products, 7 {1911), No. 8, pp. 

 423-425). — The author tested a number of colloids and crystalloids, some of 

 which were absorbed by the shell and some w*ere not. 



All of the absorbed substances gave an alkaline reaction. Caustic soda so- 

 lution readily penetrated the eggs, causing the albumin to coagulate in a few 

 days, and many eggs when immersed in a 5 per cent solution cracked within 

 the first 24 hours. A solution of 1 volume commercial silicate of soda, 40° 

 Baume, and 15 or 20 volumes of water, closed the pores of the shell within 3 

 to 7 days, and limewater was fully as effective in this respect. Sodium allumi- 

 nate solution, 1 : 15, required from 2 to 3 weeks, and castile soap, 1 : 20, about a 

 month. Other solutions which closed the pores were those of bicarbonate, di-, 

 and especially trisodium phosphate. A 3 per cent solution of barium hydrate 

 acted much slower than limewater containing about 0.14 per cent hydrate of 

 lime. The concentration was found of great influence. For instance, with 

 silicate of soda, 1 : 120, none of the eggs would crack within a period of 15 

 days. 



The author also experimented with eggs in crystallized silicate of soda, or 

 " alkasil," Na2O.SiO2.9H2O, and 4 grades of commercial silicate of soda. No 

 great difference was found in the pore-sealing action, but the weights of the 

 eggs increased in the crystallized silicate of soda, the increase ranging from 

 0.6 per cent in 1 week to 2 per cent in 5 weeks. A similar increase in weight 

 of eggs resulted when the latter were immersed in commercial silicate of soda 

 in which the Si02 percentage had been decreased by the addition of caustic 

 soda or lime to such an extent that only 3 molecules or less of Si02 were in 

 combination with 2 molecules of Na20 in the solution. While the weights of 

 many eggs preserved in silicate of soda remained constant within very close 

 limits, there were considerable variations in eggs preserved in limewater and 

 especially in silicate of soda with a low percentage of Si02. 



To test the permeability of the shells of preserved eggs, a number were 

 kept in the open air for several weeks, and it was found that they would 

 still crack when boiled. After 6 months in the open air their average loss 

 in weight was only 6 per cent, against nearly 20 per cent on unpreserved eggs. 



Directions for preserving eggs in silicate of soda are given. 



