48 PROGRESSIVE POULTRY CULTURE 



the ovary to the cloaca connecting with the vent. Dur- 

 ing this journey each egg is completed and prepared for 

 laying. The mucous inner linings of the oviduct se- 

 crete and supply the albumen, which, placed around the 

 yolk, forms the "white" of the egg. The layer imme- 

 diately surrounding the yolk-sac is rather thin albumen 

 and this is enveloped by a layer of thicker albumen. 

 Then comes another layer of thin albumen. Two cur- 

 ious whitish cords of thick, twisted albumen extend from 

 opposite sides of the yolk through the layers of albumen 

 to opposite ends of the egg. By their weight and ten- 

 sion these cords help to hold the yolk in position, float- 

 ing midway of the egg with the germ-cell on top, keep- 

 ing the latter immersed in the white of the egg and pre- 

 venting it from coming in -contact with the shell. In 

 the course of its passage along inside the oviduct, the 

 egg receives its "soft shell," an envelope composed of 

 two thin whitish membranes, which separate at the large 

 end of the egg to form the "air-cell." INext surround- 

 ing and protecting all the parts described, comes the 

 outer shell, which is formed mainly of calcium carbonate 

 supplied in soluble form. The shell may receive a fin- 

 ishing coat of pigment to give the outsidfe a distinguish- 

 ing tint. After the shell has hardened, its particles form 

 little prisms, which, standing side by side and extending 

 from the inner to the outer parts of the shell, form the 

 sides of little pores allowing the slow passage of air 

 and gaseous compounds through the shell. The egg 

 being fully formed and finished, passes from the ovi- 

 duct into the cloaca and soon after is "laid." 



FRESHNESS AND FERTILITY OF EGGS. 



Eggs selected for hatching should certainly be fresh 

 and fertile to secure desirable results. Experience has 

 proved that every day after the fertile egg is a week 

 old it loses somewhat in hatching power. To set eggs 

 that are more than two weeks old is to decidedly in- 

 crease the chances of "death in the shell" or weakness of 

 the chicks if the eggs hatch. 



The poultry breeder seeks to secure the sure fer- 



