Birds' Eggs as Food 



GULLS' eggs, priced " Only 6d. each/' were 

 on sale in London shops ; but as ordinary 

 HENS' eggs were offered at 4^. each at the 

 time it would appear that the supply must 

 have been so small that they were regarded 

 as luxuries. 



A point which seems to have escaped the 

 notice of those who advised the taking of 

 the eggs of game-birds and wild-fowl is 

 that the food-value of the egg, if left un- 

 molested to be hatched and reared to maturity, 

 would, in some sixteen weeks' time, be greatly 

 in excess of the food-value of the egg itself. 



In September 1918 the Ministry of Food, 

 in order that the ordinary channels of dis- 

 tribution of FOWLS' eggs should not be inter- 

 fered with beyond ensuring that big towns 

 in industrial districts should have their fair 

 proportion, instituted three grades of eggs : 

 (i) Eggs other than imported and preserved 

 eggs weighing over i oz. ; (2) imported and 

 preserved eggs over i oz. ; (3) all eggs less 

 than that weight. Thus a clean sweep was 

 made of the traditional trade classification, 

 which recognised " ninety-nine different vari- 



63 ' 



