MARKETING EGGS AND POULTRY 345 



have deteriorated to a sufficient extent as to be rejected as 

 firsts. The several classes of eggs which go to make up this 

 grade may be defined as follows : 



(a) Heated Egg. One in which the embryo has pro- 

 ceeded to a point corresponding to about 18 to 24 hours of 

 normal incubation. In the infertile egg this condition can 

 be recognized by the increased color of the yolk ; when held 

 before the candle it will appear heavy and slightly darker 

 than in the fertile egg. 



(b) Shrunken Egg. This class of seconds can be easily 

 distinguished by the size of the air cell. It may occupy 

 from one-fifth to one-third of the space inside the shell. 



(c) Small Egg. Any egg that will detract from the 

 appearance of normal eggs on account of its small size will 

 come under this class, although it may be a new-laid egg. 



(d) Dirty Egg. Fresh eggs which have been soiled with 

 earth, droppings, or egg contents, or badly stained by com- 

 ing in contact with wet straw, hay, etc., are classed as 

 seconds. 



(e) Watery Egg. Those in which the inner membrane 

 of the air cell is ruptured, allowing the air to escape into 

 the contents of the egg, and thereby giving a watery or 

 frothy appearance. 



(f) Presence of Foreign Matter in Eggs. Often eggs 

 are laid which show small clots of blood about the size of 

 a pea. These are sometimes termed " liver " or "meat" 

 spots. 



(g) Badly Misshaped Eggs. Eggs which are extremely 

 long or very flat, or in which part of the shell's surface is 

 raised in the form of a ring ; in other instances a number of 

 hard, wart-like growths appear on the outside of the shell. 



Spots. Eggs in which bacteria or mold growth has de- 

 veloped locally and caused the formation of a lumpy ad- 

 hesion on the inside of the shell. 



