112 EGGS 



and the inner lining or membrane of the shell can be 

 used as an adhesive plaster. Eggshells, on account of 

 the purity of the carbonate of lime of which they are 

 largely composed, are used in compounding medicine 

 and for several other purposes. 



There is a limited demand for rotten eggs for the 

 finishing of some kinds of leather. They may be used 

 as fertilizer, and in many instances they are used in 

 the manufacture of calico. The supply, however, is 

 much greater than the demand, and such eggs bring 

 but a few cents a dozen. Often the price paid for them 

 is not sufficient to cover the cost of transportation, which 

 in most cases is paid by the shipper. 



Color of Eggshells. Fowls of European origin lay 

 white-shelled eggs; those of Asiatic origin lay dark- 

 shelled eggs, as a rule. The eggs of different varieties 

 of the same breed may differ slightly in color. For 

 example, the eggs of dark-plumaged fowls have darker- 

 colored shells than those of the lighter-plumaged fowls. 



A cross between two breeds, one of which lays 

 brown-shelled eggs and the other white-shelled eggs, 

 results in fowls that lay eggs of a color intermediate 

 between the brown and the white. There is also 

 considerable variation in the color of eggs from different 

 hens of the same variety. The color of the shell is 

 more pronounced in the eggs first laid than in those 

 laid later in the season. All fowls having the least 

 amount of Asiatic blood show this influence in the tinted 

 shells. The more of Asiatic blood a fowl has in its 

 veins the darker will be the color of the eggshell. 

 The eggs with the darkest color of shell are laid by the 

 Langshans. 



The New York market pays the highest prices for 

 white-shelled eggs, and the Boston market pays the high- 

 est prices for brown-shelled eggs. In other markets the 

 matter of color of shell is one of small importance. 



The color of shell produced by the most popular egg- 

 producing breeds is given in the following list. 



