lo Oct., 1910.] TJic Handling of Eggs. 62; 



judicious re-arrangement of the ration, the yield can very often be in- 

 creased and the health of the herds maintained. Chaff and green maize 

 are mostly mixed in the proportion of one of the former to three of the 

 latter. Bran and grains are the only concentrated foodstuffs purchased. 



THE HANDLING OF EGG8. 



//. V. Hazikifis, Poultry Expert. 



The summer is fast approaching and unless proper steps are taken, 

 inferior eggs will be coming into the city fiom all parts of the State. 



As the breeding season is past, the stud bird should now be kept by 

 himself so that the eggs will be sterile — they keep fresher, will pickle 

 better, and will turn out well after being in cool storage. The surplus 

 cockerels should be fattened and disposed of without delay. The layers 

 should have every care and attention, and the best food available, including 

 at least one third of greenstuff. Fresh water should be given daily and 

 kept in the shade. 



Present methods of preserving eggs are far from satisfactory. F(jr 

 any purpose, a pickled egg is a poor substitute for a fresh egg, and, at 

 the prices which pickled eggs command, is a dear article of food. Xeithrr 

 have cool storage eggs been as satisfactory as one would wish. 



The experiments which have been carried out in Australia in connexion 

 with the cool storage of eggs have, in many instances, not been successful, 

 because they have been merely speculative, and the selection and packing 

 of the eggs unscientific. The eggs stored have been packed for early sale 

 in the ordinary haphazard method adopted by many, and put in the stores, 

 with other produce, when they were fertile or already stale, to aw'ait a 

 rise in price. 



Such eggs are generally packed in a more or less warm and moist atmos- 

 phere. When they are put in storage the temperature of the air that is 

 included in the packing and surrounding the eggs in the case, is probably 

 not less than 60 degrees, and this is reduced in the cool chambers to 40 

 or under. Air at 40 degrees can hold only about half the amount of 

 moisture it can contain at 60 ; consequently, when the temperature is 

 reduced, condensation takes place, and the surplus moisture is deposited 

 on the eggs, making them cold and clammy to the touch, dulling the shell. 

 and setting up changes which lead to rapid deterioration when exposed 

 to the ordinary atmosphere. 



When cool storage Ts universal, not only in the cities, but also in the 

 districts where the eggs are produced, then we may expect fewer losses, 

 but the producer must do his part in collecting regularly and placing the 

 sterile eggs in the various depots. In the meantime, it is necessary that 

 cooler trucks should be provided by the Railway Department and special 

 days arranged for the quick despatch of eggs ; and not as at present, with 

 other consignments, such as kerosene, rabbits, &c. Eggs are very sensitive 

 to bad odours. 



It is highly desirable that an egg market should be established, where 

 the produce would be sold daily at auction, by quality and weight. The 

 careful farmer would then get the best price for best goods, which, under 

 the present system, does not always obtain. 



