54 BULLETIN 224, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



Table 23. — Clean eggs compared with dirty eggs {D House, 1911). 



Sample 

 No. 



Description of samples. 



Date of 

 collec- 

 tion. 



Bacteria per gram 

 on plain agar in- 

 cubated at— 



20° C. 



37° C. 



Gas- 

 producing 

 bacteria 

 per gram 

 in lactose 

 bile. 



Lique- 

 fying 



organ- 

 isms 

 per 



gram. 



Ammo- 

 niacal 



nitrogen 

 (Folin 



method, 



wet 



basis). 



243 

 244 

 234 

 235 

 353 

 354 

 373 

 374 

 385 

 386 



Whole egg: 



Clean shells. 

 Dirty shells. 

 Clean shells. 

 Dirty shells. 

 Clean shells. 

 Dirty shells. 

 Clean shells. 

 Dirty shells. 

 Clean shells. 

 Dirty shells. 



1911. 

 July 12 

 ...do.... 

 July 11 

 ...do.... 

 July 24 



...do 



July 25 

 ...do.... 

 July 26 

 ...do.... 



29,500 



19,000 



4,900 



190,000 



0) 



1,700,000 



10, 500 



960, 000 



77, 000 



4,700,000 



100, 000 



67, 000 



3,600 



140,000 



68, 000 



2,100,000 



C 1 ) 



810,000 



240, 000 



3.000,000 



10 



10 



1,000 



100 



100 



100,000 







10, 000 



1,000 



1,000,000 



2, 000 



10,000 

 210, 000 



Per cent. 

 0.0017 

 .0017 

 .0017 

 .0017 

 .0018 

 .0016 

 .0019 

 .0016 

 .0018 

 .0020 



i Sterile at 1,000. 



The same differences in bacterial count were observed in the drip collecting in the 

 bottom of the tray after breaking clean and dirty eggs. These results are given 

 in Table 24. 



Table 24. — Drip in breaking tray from clean and dirty eggs (D House, 1911). 



Number. 



Description of samples. 



Date of 

 collection. 



Bacteria 



per gram on 



plain agar 



incubated 



at room 



temperature. 



Gas-producing 



bacteria 

 per gram in 

 lactose bile. 



375 





I. 



July 25,1911 

 do 



24,500 

 32, 500 

 95,000 

 81,000 



450,000 



410,000 



1,600,000 



600,000 





376 



do 





387 



do 



July 26,1911 

 do 



1,000 



388 



do 



10, 000 



377 





II. 



July 25,1911 

 ....fdo.. 



378 



do 





389 



do 



July 26,1911 

 ....fdo.. 



100,000 



390 



do 



1,000 













A SPECIAL STUDY APPLYING INFORMATION OBTAINED DURING THE SUMMER OF 1911 TO 



A WELL-EQUIPPED HOUSE. 



The construction of the room in D house was excellent and the equipment good. 

 Cleanliness could be maintained and the work people were flexible. It seemed de- 

 sirable, therefore, to put into practical operation in this house the information on the 

 handling of frozen eggs that had been gathered during the course of investigations in 

 1911. The first week of September, 1911, was chosen for this series of experiments. 

 The weather in that section of the country had been very hot and humid, and the 

 deterioration of the egg supply had hastened accordingly. It was the season also for 

 the tall weeds to fall, hence many stolen nests were discovered and their contents sent 

 to market. These factors combined to give a supply of eggs that were very difficult 

 to grade, and the loss in both the candling and breaking rooms was heavy. 



The candlers and breakers have an inherent tendency to keep the records of losses 

 as low as possible, thinking that they are benefiting their employer thereby, hence the 

 candler will pass eggs that should be discarded, and the breaker, after throwing away 

 a certain number, will begin to save eggs that she would not have used had their number 

 been fewer. This condition prevailed in D house at the time of the experiments and 

 was caused by the sudden influx of low-grade eggs. It was necessary, therefore, to 



