24 
about twenty-four hours after being taken, these two lots 
were separately removed from the kegs, passed through 
a screen with meshes just large enough to easily admit 
of the passage of a single egg, the same as all our eggs 
are treated, when it was found that there were practi- 
cally no lumps in either case. In the muck lot there was 
one lump of five eggs and two of three each, while in 
the starch lot there was still less, two or three of three 
eggs each. They were then both put into a screen box 
with mesh fine enough to just hold the eggs, and all muck 
was washed out, there being practically no starch re- 
maining. 
Examination was then made of both lots with the 
microscope, which showed minute particles of muck 
and starch, respectively, adhering thickly all over the 
outer membrane of the eggs, thus preventing, as Prof. 
Reighard has shown, the eggs from coming into im- 
mediate contact with each other, and thus preventing 
adhesion. Both lots were worked entirely separate, not 
being doubled up with others, and showed as near as 
could be judged by guage measurements a nearly equal 
percentage of good eggs, about 9% per cent. above the 
average of the house, the muck eggs being the best. 
On April 16th Henry Curtis, John Dukes and Fred 
Miller were each furnished with starch and muck and 
fully instructed in the use of each. The muck was cut 
down to one quart to the keg, which prevented adhesion. 
All these spawn takers reported that it required almost 
constant work to keep the starch from settling into a 
hard mass, and that it required more work than the old 
way, while the muck gave no trouble at all, the eggs 
and muck being simply agitated gently just before in- 
troducing a new lot of eggs. 
Mr. Curtis finding that the starch settled into a mass 
unless frequently stirred, worked a considerable portion 
of it out of the keg. These eggs turned out very fine. 
Oscar Betts took three jars, about ten quarts, on the 
17th, with starch and reported much trouble, but the 
