November 28, 1907J 



NA TURE 



85 



bad fKgs from fresh eggs, one of the simplest is to 

 make a hole of about the size and shape of an egg 

 in a wooden or tin box, and hold the egg in the inside 

 of this box against the light behind the hole. Good 

 sound eggs are thus seen to be perfectly transparent 

 without striations or spots, and the bubble of air 

 within is not wider in diameter than a sixpence. 



Eggs selected for preserving should be those of 

 well-fed fowls — preferably from those of which corn is 

 the chief diet. The eggs should be quite clean ; if 

 dirtv they should be washed with a little dilute 

 alcohol (50 per cent.), and carefully dried. 



In what may be called " dry conservation," the 

 main thing is to keep the surrounding air as clean as 

 possible, and free from smell. The temperature 

 should be low, but should not sink much below 32° F., 

 otherwise freezing might cause the eggs to burst. 

 The relative humidity should be from 60 to 80. The 

 best plan is to stand the eggs on an egg-rack in a 

 cool, light cellar, and preferably in an ice closet, or. 

 on the large scale, in cold-air stores, with their points 

 downwards, so that the air can circulate freely round 

 them. Nothing is gained by turning the eggs at short 

 intervals, sav weeklv, as recommended by some; or 

 by packing them in salt, sawdust, powdered coal, or 

 charcoal, wood ashes, sand, &c. .Some of these 

 things are found to " taint " the eggs; others are apt 

 to become damp and set up the action of moulds. 



It is occasionally recommended that the egg should 

 be protected from the outer air by covering the shells 

 with fat, vaseline, paraffin wax, collodion, &c., or 

 that the shell should be treated with salicylic, 

 boracic, or hvdrofluosilicic acid, or even sulphuric acid, 

 whereby the calcareous material is chemically altered 

 and made less pervious. Immersing the n^g, in 

 Condy's fluid or a solution of potassium perman- 

 ganate has also been suggested. Eggs so treated in 

 no case were found to keep better than by cold storage 

 in pure air. 



Eggs which cannot be kept in cold stores or in an 

 ice-chest mav be preserved by Hanika's method. This 

 consists in first putting the clean eggs into recently- 

 boiled water at a temperature of about 110°, and then 

 dipping them into boiling water for 10 seconds, after 

 which thev are to be immediately put into cold water. 

 B\ this treatment all organisms are killed, and a hard 

 coating is formed between the shell and the " white." 

 The shells are finally washed with a little strong 

 alcohol, dried, and placed in clean, dry saw-dust. 

 Eggs so treated were found to be in perfect condition 

 after the lapse of nine months. 



.Attempts are frequently made to preserve eggs by 

 immersing them in solutions of various salts, or of 

 substances which are known to act as antiseptics. 

 Few of these solutions give a wholly satisfactory re- 

 sult ; indeed, manv of them, as, for example, salt, 

 salicvlic acid, borax, and glycerin, penetrate the shell, 

 and either harden the yolk or impair the flavour. Of 

 th'se liquids lime-water has been most frequently used, 

 but bv long immersion in this solution the yolk is apt 

 to mix with the white, and the shell is rendered so 

 fratiTile that it is verv liable to be broken on boiling. 

 The white of an ci^^ which has been kept in lime- 

 water is difficult to " whip." Much better results are 

 obtained bv the use of a 10 per cent, solution of water- 

 class, especially if the shells are smeared with fat or 

 vaseline, whereby the slight taste of the alkali which 

 the eggs are otherwise apt to acquire may be 

 obviated. 



Mr. Prall's paper, which contains the results of many 

 hundreds of experiments and carefully made observa- 

 tions, arranged in tabular form and set out in detail, 

 is .-1 valu.''ble contribution to the economics of an im- 

 portant food problem, and merits careful study by 

 those who are interested in the subject. 



NO. 1 987, VOL. ']']'\ 



NOTES. 

 On Thursday last, November 21, the Lord Mayor of 

 Liverpool presided over an influential gathering of Welsh- 

 men from that city and from the Principality, and the 

 following resolution was carried unanimously : — " That this 

 meeting believes that the time has come for the early 

 history of Wales to receive full and systematic investigation 

 by all the means at the disposal of modern archaeological 

 science." The Oxford professor of Celtic (Sir John Rhys) 

 supported this at some length, pointing out that sporadic 

 excavations were not enough in themselves, and that a 

 systematic survey should also be made of all the antiquities 

 of Wales and the Marches. This would entail, not only 

 the digging over of barrows and graves, but the orientation 

 of stone circles, cromlechs, and camps. The theodolite 

 as well as the shovel should be called into requisition ; in 

 fact, no means should be neglected which might tend to 

 increase the value of the investigation. Two other motions 

 were passed, and a committee, which includes Dr. Arthur 

 J. Evans and Prof. Haverfield among its members, was 

 appointed for the carrying out of the work. The weight 

 of the undertaking will fall on the University of Liver- 

 pool, which, however, is to receive assistance from the 

 Welsh colleges. Our readers need not be reminded that 

 Liverpool University lays special stress on the study of 

 archeology, and includes among its staff Prof. Bosanquet 

 and Prof. John Garstang. We have every confidence that 

 any work undertaken by Liverpool will be done well and 

 thoroughly. The organising secretary is Mr. Owen 

 Rhoscomyl, 38 Bedford Street, Liverpool. 



The Wilde medal for 1908 of the Manchester Literary 

 and Philosophical Society has been awarded to Prof. J. 

 Larmor, F.R.S., and will be presented to him on March 3 

 next. Prof. Larmor will on that date deliver the Wilde 

 lecture on "The Physical Aspect of the .Atomic Theory," 

 and will be entertained afterwards at a dinner in his 

 honour. 



The Physical Society announces that the third annual 

 exhibition of electrical, optical, and other physical 

 apparatus will be held at the Royal College of Science, 

 South Kensington, on Friday evening, December 13, from 

 seven to ten o'clock. 



The executive committee of the National Physical Labor- 

 atory has appointed Mr. G. W. Walker, official assistant 

 to the professor of natural philosophy in the University of 

 Glasgow, as superintendent of the Eskdalemuir Observ- 

 atory. Mr. Guy Barr, of Christ's College, Cambridge, has 

 been appointed to an assistantship in the metallurgical and 

 chemical department of the National Physical Laboratory. 



The death is announced, at the age of sixty-nine, of 

 Prof. T. Barker, professor of mathematics at Owens 

 College, Manchester, from 1865 to 1885. 



.An international exhibition of applications of electricity 

 will be opened at Marseilles on April 19, 1908, under the 

 patronage of the Government of the French Republic, and 

 with the cooperation of the local authorities, municipal 

 council, general council, Board of Trade, and other bodies. 

 Particulars can be obtained at the office of the Com- 

 missariat-General, Boulevard Louis Salvator, 52, Mar- 

 seilles, and at the Secretariat-General, 63 Boulevard 

 Haussmann, Paris. 



The Times correspondent at Cape Town reports on 

 November 23 that the Chief Justice, presiding at a meet- 

 ing of the National Preservation Society, urged the need 

 of stronger measures to preserve rare flora and fauna from 



