EGGS AND THEIR VALUE AS FOOD. 3 



DESCRIPTION AND COMPOSITION OF EGGS. 



SIZE. 



The eggs of different kinds of domestic poultry vary in size as well 

 as appearance, and there is also a considerable range in the size of 

 eggs of different breeds; thus, hens' eggs range from the small ones 

 laid by bantams to the large ones laid by such breeds as Light 

 Brahmas. On an average, hens' eggs are 2.27 inches in length and 

 1.72 inches in diameter, or width, at the broadest point, and weigh 

 about 2 ounces each, or 8 eggs to the pound (1.5 pounds per dozen). 

 Generally speaking, the eggs of pullets are smaller than those of old 

 birds, those of guinea fowls about two-thirds the size of hens' eggs, 

 those of ducks somewhat larger, while those of turkeys and geese 

 are considerably larger. 



COLOR OF EGGS AND ITS RELATION TO THEIR VALUE AND USE. 



Considering both wild and domestic birds of all sorts, the eggshell 

 ranges from white to deep colors through a variety of tints and 

 mottlings. The eggs of domestic fowls are not highly colored. Those 

 of hens vary from white to a light or deep brownish tint, the eggs 

 from a particular breed being very similar as regards their color, 

 though varying in depth of color or shade. The eggs of ducks are 

 bluish white ; those of geese, commonly white ; those of guinea fowls, 

 white or light brown, more or less mottled with a deeper shade ; and 

 those of turkeys, usually speckled with a yellowish brown. 



Any special coloring in the eggs of wild birds is commonly ex- 

 plained as a protective measure which has been developed to render 

 the eggs inconspicuous in their normal surroundings and therefore 

 less easily found by their enemies. Such reasoning would indicate 

 that the observed differences in the color of hens' eggs are due to 

 characteristics which different breeds have inherited from remote 

 wild ancestors. Of common breeds, for example, Cochins, Brahmas, 

 and Langshans, all belonging to the Asiatic class, lay brown-shelled 

 eggs, while Leghorns and Minorcas, which belong to the Mediter- 

 ranean class, lay white-shelled eggs. 



The color of the shells, whatever its reason, is a feature which 

 has some effect on the market value of eggs of domestic poultry, 

 although not upon their food value (see pp. 4 and 6), the brown- 

 shelled eggs bringing the higher price, for instance, in the Boston 

 market, and the white-shelled eggs in the New York market. In 

 England the preference is decidedly in favor of the tinted eggs. 

 Such local differences probably originated in the fact that some one 

 breed of hens was once chiefly used in a given region and its type of 

 eggs set the standard there. 



