110 



THE OSPREY. 



An Improved Egg-blower. 



BY HENKY R. BUCK, WETHEKSFIELD, CONN. 



IN The Aiik for April, 1895, (Vol. 12, 

 pp. 196-198) Mr. E. E- Brewster g-ave 

 a description of a new device for 

 blowing- eg-gs. It has probably been seen 

 by many readers of The Ospkey. I pur- 

 chased the apparatus and used it in the 

 following- modified form the remainder of 

 that season and throug-h 189f) with the 

 utmost satisfaction. For the benefit of 

 oijlogists who have not yet tried it, and 

 who have at hand a water pressure of 25 

 pounds or over, I would like to ag-ain call 

 attention to Mr. Brewster's device. 



In the orig-inal sketch a filter pump, or 

 aspirator, exhausted the air from a glass 

 flask, forming- therein a partial vacuum. 

 With this flask was connected a rubber 

 tube having a fine g-lass tip, which tip 

 was to be inserted in the drill hole of the 

 eg-g. The theorectical result was obvi- 

 ous, the contents of the egg- rushing- over 

 into the flask "to fill the vacuum." 



In practice, however, the bottle w^as 

 found to be unnecessary and extremely 

 inconvenient, and the arrangement shown 

 in the cut is submitted as being simpler, 

 more compact, and especially much more 

 rapid in its action. To force the g-ela- 

 tinous contents of a slightly incubated 

 eg-g- throug-h a tip .02 inch in diameter 

 requires a pressure of nearly 25 inches of 

 mercury — say 10 to 12 pounds per square 

 inch. (A good pump will raise 28'2 in- 

 ches when 30 inches is a perfect vacuum. ) 

 To exhaust the air in the flask to this 

 point ma}' take over a minute — depending- 

 on the size of the flask — while 10 seconds 

 is time enoug-h to rarity the small amount 

 of air in the tubes when used without the 

 bottle. 



The advantag-es of this method of 

 blowing- eggs are obvious. It will blow 

 an egg throug-h a much smaller hole ihan 

 any other method, and with a hole of a 

 g-iven size is more rapid than anything- 

 else I know of. There is less danger of 

 breakag-e, since what little pressure comes 

 on the shell is that of the atmos- 

 phere acting- on the outside. Anyone 

 who has seen the old experiment of trying- 

 to break a hen's egg by squeezing it be- 

 tween the hands knows how strong an 

 egg is taken this way. In the two sea- 



sons I have used this method I have not 

 had a sing-le eg-g- collapse. It is far 

 neater than an3'thing- else — no spattering- 

 water as with the water-blower; no dish 

 of slimy embryos as with the air jet — 

 though of course the "earnest worker" 

 cares nothing- for this. And, finally, 

 there is absolutely no pumping- work for 

 the mouth, hands or feet. 



HOW TO MAKE THE BLOWER. 



To make this blower get a "small brass filter 

 pump" of any chemical dealer or of Eimer & 

 Amend, New York City. It costs a dollar and 

 a half. Get about one and a half feet of stout 

 '4 inch rubber tubing, as flexible as possible. 

 The best thing I have seen is known here as 

 "basket" tubing, but anything that will not 

 collapse will do Also get a piece four inches 



Elastic banofs 



*»y^ Strong rt/ji>i>ef tube 

 ^ inches long 



Fittings. - must b& 

 token Out 



Of /'{s^ifCr^o'' 



6ast<et o)' fr^ssure 

 Tubi'nff l/i /V tono 



Glass ///> 



Waste watet 

 and eg a 



long, large enough to slip over the faucet of 

 your wash bowl, and having a cotton filling 

 strong enough to stand your city water pres- 

 sure — pure rubber pipes will not do here Even 

 if your faucet i>- ^^ of an inch in diameter and 

 the pump only '4, no matter Wind small 

 rvibber bands around and around the tube as 

 tight as possible and it will draw it down to a 

 tight joint every time. Elastic bands are infi- 

 nitely better than wire or string as a trial will 

 show. Never take the rubber tubes ofi^ the 

 pump slip the whole thing ofi^ the faucet and 

 hang up to dry. 



When the pump comes, unscrew the plug C, 

 shake out the rubber valve B and screw out the 



