EGGS AND INCUBATION 



501 



then placed on the market. Often the eggs are very poor, 

 especially during the summer season. Eggs from stolen 

 nests, dirty nests, from held-over 

 stock, etc., find their way into 

 the same case, and form a motley 

 collection. The careful dealer 

 sorts these, candles them, and 

 tries to grade them before plac- 

 ing them on the market. 



The grades of eggs on the 

 market differ to a considerable 

 extent, and in some places 

 more than in others. Large 

 markets like New York or Boston 

 handle the most grades. Pro- 

 fessor Philips gives the follow- 

 ing classification as an ideal 

 way to grade eggs:* 



Figure 241. Sorted vs. un- 

 sorted eggs. Photograph from 

 Ohio State University. 



Extras. Weigh 28-26 ozs. naturally and absolutely clean; fresh 

 and sound. 



No. 1. Weigh 26-24 ozs., sound, fresh, and reasonably clean. 

 No. 2. Shrunken or stale, washed, small, stained and dirty. 

 No. 3. Checks cracked, but not leaking. 

 No. 4. Rots. Incubator and decomposed eggs. 



New York quotation on eggs in November, 1921, showed the follow- 

 ing grades and prices. 



California whites-Extra firsts 70c 



Extra firsts 58^-60c. 



First grade firsts 50-54c. 



Refrigerator firsts 



Refrigerator seconds 30c. 



The preservation of eggs during low prices, to sell when 

 they are high, is a common practice. The egg easily spoils 

 under a hot sun or in warm moist weather. Germs of rot 

 develop rapidly in the egg at 55 degrees or higher, con- 

 sequently it is desirable to keep them below this temperature 

 until they can be used. In cold storage, it is preferred that 

 a temperature of 34 degrees be maintained. 



*Bulletin No. 102, Kansas Experiment Station, p. 251. 



