THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE FARM EGG. 



INTRODUCTION. 



It is an accepted fact that the commercial egg of this country is 

 of a very poor quality, and when the housewife purchases eggs of 

 the local grocer she is often compelled to break them lirst in a saucer 

 before using them for culinary purposes. This poor quality in eggs 

 has been attributed by the majority of persons to the retention of the 

 eggs in cold storage until a large per cent of them are unfit for 

 human consumption. This condition, however, is not as a rule due 

 to cold storage, but to the condition of the eggs when they go into 

 storage. If eggs are full and fresh when put into a well-equipped 

 and properly managed cold-storage house there is, practically speak- 

 ing, no change in quality during the period they are normally held 

 which renders them unfit for food. On the other hand, if eggs are 

 heated, shrunken, watery, or otherwise deteriorated when they reach 

 the storage house, they can not improve in quality by virtue of being 

 held at a low temperature and are quite likely to deteriorate to a 

 still greater extent. In other words, the function of cold storage 

 in the case of eggs is to retard or prevent changes which are unfavor- 

 able to good quality. 



From the time the eggs reach the poultry packer or other large 

 fairer of eggs they are as a rule given good care.-and the deterioration 

 from this point until they go into cold storage or reach their ultimate- 

 market is comparatively small. While there is. undoubtedly, still 

 room for improvement during this period of the egg's journey to 

 market, conditions are on the whole too satisfactory to account for 

 the very serious deterioration which is so widespread and marked. 



It is therefore necessary to go further back in the, process of 

 marketing and to study the conditions surrounding the production 

 and handling of eggs from the farm to the packing house, if a really 

 noticeable and substantial improvement is to lx> eil'ected. The 

 Bureau of Animal Industry has undertaken to grapple with this 

 problem and a report of the preliminary work was published in 

 1009, as Circular 140, entitled, "The Egg Trade of the United 

 States." This circular gives a bird's-eye view of the situation in all 

 sections of the country and forcibly demonstrates the need of pro- 

 curing more detailed information on this subject. 

 100717--Riil]. 14111 



