176 THE PEOPLE'S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 



transported to them from a distance. The article in question is from the pen 

 of L. WRIGHT, author of the Practical Poultry Keeper, and those familiai 

 with his writings on poultry or conversant with the reputation of his book, 

 need no other assurance of the feasibility of the results arrived at by him. 

 He says he has discarded bran in packing eggs, and substituted therefor hay ; 

 believing that good, soft hay is the best material that can be used. 



MANNER OF PACKING. 



His mode is to put a good layer of hay in the bottom of a box, not 

 rammed down, but left springy, and some hay put all around the inside ; the 

 eggs should be nicely bedded in one layer only. Each egg should be 

 wrapped singly and loosely in a piece of paper a quarter the size of a com- 

 mon newspaper page, in such a manner as to leave the ends square, and not 

 shaped to the egg. Then a good wisp of hay is wrapped round each, and 

 the eggs put in the box just tightly enough to prevent them from shaking 

 about, and no more. The eggs should be packed with the large end down. 

 Mr. WRIGHT says he can state positively that eggs intended for hatching will 

 keep good much longer and better when placed on the large end than in any 

 other position. Mr. GEYELIN also advocates this position for eggs intended 

 to hatch. 



THE REASONS FOR PACKING WITH THE LARGE END DOWN. 



Mr. WRIGHT'S experiments in this matter extend over a period of two 

 years. A lady correspondent of his, of large experience, writing him upon 

 this subject, says : " Keeping eggs on the small end appears to me to cause 

 the air-bubble to spread, detaching it from the shell, or rather from its mem- 

 braneous lining; and after being so kept for a fortnight the air-bubble will be 

 found to be much spread, and the egg to have lost much of its vitality, 

 though still very good for eating." In describing her success with keeping 

 eggs in a contrary position, (large end downward,) says : " Owing to this 

 method of storing, such a thing as a stale egg has never been known in my 

 house ; and as regards success in hatching, for several seasons when I was 

 able to attend to my poultry myself, of many broods set, every egg produced 

 a chicken." 



CORRECTNESS OF THIS THEORY. 



Again, to prove that Mr. W. is correct in his theory, he cites a case 

 wherein he shipped thirty eggs from England to a gentleman in Ohio, 

 packed in the manner here described ; the eggs were twenty-two days on 

 the way, and eighteen chickens were hatched from them. In regard to 

 these eggs he says : " As I had not many hens laying at the time, many 

 of the eggs must have been eight to ten days old when sent, and fully a 

 month old when set; and I think, therefore, the simple fact that they 

 hatched in the proportion of six to every ten will be sufficient warrant for 

 my now recommending to other fanciers, with full confidence, the adoption 

 of this position for packing and storing." 



