10 A BACTERIOLOGICAL STUDY OF EGGS. 



known as "checks," " cracks/ 7 and " leakers." 1 These eggs, with 

 the exception of the leakers, may be perfectly wholesome for food, 

 and would make a satisfactory product if broken at once and pre- 

 served under satisfactory conditions. At tunes the necessary care 

 and attention to sanitary practices are not exercised hi breaking such 

 eggs, the results often showing a highly contaminated article. 



It is the custom in certain cities for some of the less scrupulous 

 egg-breaking dealers to secure a portion of their material for break- 

 ing by collecting small lots from various commission merchants. 

 These segregated lots, some of which cost little if anything, are 

 broken and mixed with eggs received from other sources and either 

 are sold direct to the baking trade before freezing or are preserved 

 for future demands. The prices paid for eggs used strictly for 

 breaking purposes fluctuate greatly. They generally bring less than 

 one-third of the prevailing price for the highest grades. The lowest 

 prices reported paid by any one firm was 50 cents per case of 30 dozen. 

 This firm dealt in eggs intended for tanning purposes as well as for 

 human consumption. The usual price paid is higher than this, 

 varying from $1.50 to $6 a case of 30 dozen, or from 5 to 20 cents a 

 dozen. 



The egg-breaking season is from about April 1 to October 1, 

 varying according to locality and season, the bulk of the business 

 being carried on in June and July, during the warmest months of 

 the season. Eggs laid in summer are less desirable for storage than 

 those laid in April or May, which "hold up" far better than the 

 weaker or thinner eggs produced near the end of the laying season. 2 

 Warm weather naturally contributes to more rapid spoilage and 

 decay, and other conditions make contamination more probable 

 during this season of the year than during the colder months. 



The primary responsibility for a wholesome egg supply undoubt- 

 edly rests with the producer. It is only too true that a large per- 

 centage of inferior eggs are marketed directly from the farms to local 

 buyers, but a certain number of eggs become injured and deteriorate 

 during shipment, storage, and subsequent handling. 3 The age of the 

 egg, sanitary environment during its entire history, and climatic 

 conditions are factors which largely govern quality at the time of 

 marketing. 



Certain undesirable practices attending the production of shell 

 eggs have been recognized for a long time, and vigorous steps are 

 now being taken by the Federal Government and some of the States, 



1 Pennington, M. E., and Pierce, H. C. Effect of the Present Method of Handling Eggs. U. S. Dept. 

 Agr. Yearbook, 1910, pp. 469-470; U. S. Dept. Agr., Bureau of Animal Industry Bui. 141. 



2 Pennington, M. E. Poultry from the Farm to the Consumer. U. S. Dept. Agr., Bureau of Chemistry 

 Cir. 64, p. 36. 



s U. S. Dept. Agr., Yearbook, 1910. Pennington and Pierce, loc. cit.; Farmers' Bui. 445, Marketing 

 eggs through the creamery, by R. R. Slocum; Bureau of Animal Industry Bui. 141. 



