COMMERCIAL EGGS IN THE CENTRAL WEST. 39 



Table 13. — Black rots — individual eggs — Continued.- 



Sample 



l-.'o. 



Date of 



examina- 

 tion. 



Total number of bacte- 

 ria per gram on plain 

 agar incubated at— 



Number of 



gas-pro- 

 ducing bac- 

 teria per 

 gram in lac- 

 tose bile. 



Description. 





20° C. 



37* C. 





4059 



1911. 

 July 13 



...do 



Oct. 9 



Nov. 7 



67,000,000 



11,000,000 



660,000,000 



160,000,000 





1,000,000 

 1, 000, 000 -t- 

 



100 



Black under candle; contents were very gassy 



andhadafrighliulodor; clean shell; marked 



shrinkage; movable air cell. 

 Black under candle; bad odor on opening; 



clean shell; marked shrinkage; movable air 



ceU. 

 Bldck under candle; shell dirty and stained in 



one spot with a damp feather, underneath 



which, was a mold spot; balance of the egg 



was a black rot. 

 Black under candle; strong odor of hydrogen 



sulphid; Inside of shell and shell membrane 



bkck; shell not fresh looking; one-third 



shrinkage. 



4060 

 4087 



4114 



5,400,00'D 

 180,000,000 



280,000,000 



The maximum bacterial comit was 6,300,000,000 per gram; the 

 minimum 5,400,000. B. coli were looked for five times and found four 

 times — in very large nimibers except in one sample. 



COMPOSITE SAMPLES OF EGGS OPENED COMMERCIALLY 

 IN THE PACKING HOUSE. 



The study of eggs opened aseptically in the laboratory is logically 

 followed by a study of eggs broken commercially in the packing 

 house. For this investigation a large number of samples were taken 

 of the various types of eggs encountered throughout the egg-break- 

 ing season of 1912. It was hoped that the laboratory results, to- 

 gether with the characteristic appearance and odor of the different 

 classes of eggs, would give a practical working basis for the grading 

 of eggs used in the preparation of frozen and desiccated eggs. 



The commercial conditions under which the egro-s 



broken 



__ were 



are described in the discussion of D, E, and -F houses for 1912, 

 in a forthcoming Department of AgTiculture bulletin. The method 

 of opening was in brief as follows : The eggs were broken on a ster- 

 ilized laiife edge, the two sections of the shell pulled aj^art with the 

 thumb and first and second fingers of each hand, and the contents of 

 the Qgg allowed to drop into a sterile cup. After every infected o^gg 

 which could be detected b}^ the senses, the operator replaced the knife 

 and cup with sterile equipment and washed and dried her hands. 

 The fingers were kej)t dry by means of tissue paper or small towels, 

 which were used but once before laundering. By this method the 

 contamination of the liquid egg during the process of breaking was 

 reduced to a mmimum. 



If the sample consisted of less than 9 eggs, the liquids were poured 

 directly from the cups to a sterile 16-ounce salt-mouthed bottle, 



