EXERCISE No. 45 



CANDLING EGGS 



Object: To be able to tell the freshness of eggs without 

 breaking them. 



Material : Some fertile eggs, some infertile eggs known to 

 be bad, some fertile eggs known to have been under a hen 

 from 24 to 60 hours, a dark room, a lamp, and a shoe box. 



Method: Cut a hole in 

 the box large enough to fit 

 around the lamp chimney 

 as shown in the illustra- 

 tion. Cut a hole about the 

 size of a half dollar in the 

 end of the box opposite to 

 the light. Hold the egg in 

 front of the hole in the box, 

 and turn it from side to 

 side. Note the appearance 

 of the yolk. The air space 

 in a fresh egg is about the 



size of a dime; if dry, it may be the size of a quarter. 

 The egg should be clear except a shadow across the yolk. 

 If the egg contains a spot or sticks to one side, break and 

 examine it. 



As an egg becomes older, the white loses its firm, thick, 

 viscous condition and becomes thinner, and more watery 

 The thinner white allows the yolk to pass more rapidly 

 and the yolk appears through the thinner white to be darker 

 in color. The air space, separated by the shell membrane, 



82 



HOME-MADE CANDLING OUTFIT 



