POULTRY: A SUCCESS STORY 93 



Fertile eggs start to germinate at seventy de- 

 grees or less. They may be chilled off and the em- 

 bryo killed thereafter; but spoilage has started. A 

 sterile egg deteriorates slowly, hence it is always 

 preferable to keep roosters out of the laying flock 

 and produce sterile eggs. Despite man's best ef- 

 forts there are seasons when the hens lay faster 

 than their goods can be consumed. At such times 

 sterile eggs are stored in water glass a silicate so- 

 lution sold in drug stores against a rainy day. 

 They come out perfectly fresh after two to three 

 months in this kind of storage. 



Not even sterile eggs should be stored at too 

 high or low a temperature. In most laying houses 

 mine, for instance each nest must be used by 

 four or five hens. Hence unless the eggs are gath- 

 ered more than once or twice a day they will be 

 subjected to wide fluctuations of temperature as 

 the hens climb on and off the nests. Dependent on 

 the weather we gather Medlock eggs three to six 

 times daily. They are then stored in a moderate, 

 humid atmosphere. They are never washed until 

 time to use them. Egg shells are porous, but when 

 the egg is laid it is coated with a mucilaginous 

 liquid that dries into the shell, checking evapora- 

 tion and producing the bloom or sheen that is the 

 hallmark of a fresh egg (it can be imitated with 

 lard or mineral oil). This coating is easily soluble 

 in water; so once an egg is washed the pores of the 



