POULTRY 443 



To command the highest price, eggs should also be uni- 

 form in shape and color, the shell smooth and free from 

 spots, and clean without having been washed. Tested with 

 the candler the air cell should be no larger than a dime, 

 thus indicating freshness ; the contents must appear opaque, 

 the yolks barely visible, and free from any discoloring ; the 

 white must show thick and compact, the yolk not floating 

 about. 



1. Make a candler test as described in the text, and 

 learn to tell fresh from stale eggs; fertile from infertile 

 eggs. 



2. Score the eggs collected for several days from your 

 farm hens. How many extras; firsts; seconds? How many 

 were dirty? What was the average score? 



Effect of infertility on quality. No eggs except those 

 intended for hatching should be fertile. This is because 

 infertile eggs keep much longer and in better flavor than 

 fertile eggs. If a fertile egg is allowed to stand in a warm 

 temperature for two or three days it begins to develop 

 blood-rings; that is, it begins to develop the young. This 

 process is sure to go on during the marketing and shipping, 

 thus greatly reducing the value of the eggs. The infertile 

 egg is free from all this difficulty, and will keep fresh much 

 longer. 



It is estimated that the loss from allowing eggs to be- 

 come fertilized is more than fifteen million dollars annually 

 in the United States. All male birds should therefore be 

 kept away from laying hens when the eggs are to be used or 

 sold. This will have no effect on the number of eggs pro- 

 duced. 



Rules for egg production. The following rules for 

 egg production are given by the Poultry Division of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture: 



