BREAKAGE OF EGGS IN TRANSIT. 



13 



warrant its analysis and further efforts to reduce it. Viewed with 

 the remembrance of the much greater amount of damage constantly 

 visible wherever egg cars are unloaded, it seems highly desirable to 

 discuss and weigh the routine of handling, stowing, bracing, and 

 transporting by which the damage was kept down to the figures 

 given in Table 1. 



An analysis of the factors contributing to transit damage shows 

 that it is principally affected by: 



(1) The size of the egg. 



(2) The soundness of the eggshell. 



(3) The character of the package. 



(1) The position of the egg in the package. 



(5) The position of the case in the car. 



(6) The character of the buffing and bracing of the load. 



(7) The construction of the car. 



(8) Shocks during the haul. 



(9) Handling at the terminal. 



THE SIZE OF THE EGG. 



The relative safety during transportation of eggs which exactly fit 

 the cells of the fillers as they are now made (1.75 by 2.25 inches), as 

 compared with eggs which are too long, too short, and too narrow, is 

 shown in Table 2. 



Table 2. — Damage in transit to long, short, narrow, and well-fitting eggs. 



Conditio^ at packing house. 



Indi- 

 vidual 

 eggs. 



Eggs damaged in 

 transit. 



Well-fitting 



Long 



Short 



Narrow 



Number. 



33,626 



323 



1,170 



467 



Number. 



639 



12 



11 



Per cent. 



1.90 



3.71 



.94 



1.49 



The eggs which are too long for the fillers are, of course, most 

 subject to injury. The study indicates that 18 per cent of the eggs 

 marketed in northern Missouri were longer than the cells. More 

 than 2 per cent were ^ inch or more above the top of the cell (fig. 7). 

 The proportion of large eggs would probably increase in some dis- 

 tricts, where production has been placed on a more scientific basis, 

 and decrease in others, where low-grade stock still predominates. 



The eggs which are too large for the diameter of the filler press 

 the walls outward, and secure sufficient space from the cells contain- 

 ing narrow eggs; for the eggs which are too long there is no such 

 relief, and their liability to damage is nearly twice that of the well- 



