EGGS AND INCUBATION 



499 



These eggs should be kept in a dry, cool atmosphere until 

 placed under the hen or in the incubator. A place having 

 a temperature of from 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit is re- 

 garded as best. The eggs should be carefully handled, not 

 being severely shaken nor cracked. It is a good plan to mark 

 on each egg the date laid, and no eggs over 10 days old 

 should be set. In making up settings, it is desirable to use 

 those of uniform size, color, and condition. Hatchings will 

 be likely to be more uniform if 

 the eggs are of much the same 

 age and condition of keep pre- 

 vious to setting. 



The size and weight of eggs 

 vary more than many suppose. 

 Professor Lewis gives* some 

 interesting figures about the 

 size and weight of eggs of 

 different breeds of fowls. The 

 eggs of seven different breeds 

 showed an average large circum- 

 ference of 6.19 inches, a small cir- 

 cumference of 5.27 inches, and an 

 average weight of 1 pound, 8.05 

 ounces per dozen. The eggs from 

 the hens were slightly larger 

 and weighed a trifle more than 

 those from the pullets. A dozen 

 Plymouth Rock eggs weighed 1 

 pound, 11.2 ounces; the Leghorns ranking second at 

 1 pound, 10.3 ounces. In a bulletin published by the 

 Ohio State University, f it was shown that, in sorting 

 over a case of eggs, a dozen of the largest ones weighed 

 30^2 ounces, the medium-sized 26J/2 ounces, and the 

 small ones 21 % ounces. On this basis it was figured 



*Poultry Laboratory Guide, 1910, p. 16. 

 fThe Marketing of Eggs, April, 1911, p. 16. 



Figure 239. Leghorn and Min- 

 orca eggs. Note the difference 

 in size and weight per dozen. 

 Ph9tograph from Ohio 

 University. 



)hio State 



