COMMEKCIAL EGGS IN THE CENTRAL WEST. 61 



be inferred from these facts that even though the number of 

 bacteria in the egg be very high, as, for example, in Sample 4504, 

 where 210,000,000 per gram were found, the infection is too recent 

 to have produced chemical changes in the nitrogenous constitu- 

 ents. Because of the mixed infection it is not possible to correlate 

 the amount of loosely bound nitrogen with the presumably greater 

 or lower number of pseudomonas individuals, since the accompany- 

 ing organisms may exercise even greater activity in splitting protein 

 molecules. 



SOUR EGGS. 



The term " sour eggs," or " sour rot," is used by the egg breaker to 

 describe an egg that has when opened a peculiar pungent odor. In 

 the sense of a vinegar or common acid odor these eggs, in the earlier 

 stages at least, do not fit the name. In the later stages they may 

 Ijave an odor suggesting sourness in the usual acceptance of the term. 

 They are characterized by causing a prickling sensation in the nose, 

 suggesting the bite of pepper, though not so sharp nor so well defined. 

 These eggs can not be distinguished by candling. Generally, how- 

 ever, there is some visible sign of degeneration as well as the charac- 

 teristic pungency. For example, sour eggs frequently have a tur- 

 bidity in the white, or the yolk membrane may be weak, or even 

 broken, so that the yolk is more or less mingled with the white. The 

 only means of detecting such an egg is the peculiar pungent odor. 



Table 27 gives the bacterial and chemical analyses of 18 samples of 

 sour eggs. The samples vary in size from 2 eggs to 5 pounds. All 

 were obtained from the current egg supply in the several packing 

 houses, were broken by cracking on a sterilized knife edge, and were 

 emptied into a sterilized glass cup. The grading was such that the 

 eggs in one lot were as nearly identical as possible. 



