112 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPE;RIMENT STATION. I91I. 



fresh egg is carefully wiped with filter paper the separation 

 between it and the albumen is less perfect than when the albu- 

 men is coagulated. The error in shell weight in the fresh egg- 

 is, however, several times less than the error in weight of albu- 

 men in the boiled egg, the percentage of albumen being much 

 greater in the fresh egg in spite of the small amount which is 

 weighed with the shell. 



Summary. 



The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a study 

 of methods by which an accurate determination of the weight 

 of the several parts (albumen, yolk and shell) of the hen's egg 

 might be made. Such methods involve (a) the prevention of 

 loss of weight by evaporation, pending the weighing of the egg, 

 and (b) the accurate separation of the parts of the egg for 

 weighing. After a trial of various plans to meet these two 

 needs the following were found to be the most accurate of any 

 which were practicable. 



1. A practical method of preserving eggs for a few hours 

 which reduces the loss of weight by evaporation to a negligible 

 minimum is to seal each egg as soon as possible after it is laid 

 in a half pint Lightning fruit jar containing a cushion of ab- 

 sorbent cotton. 



2. An accurate method of separating the parts of the egg 

 is as follows : Break the egg near the center and allow the 

 albumen to run into a receiving dish. Keep the yolk in one 

 half of the shell. Then turn it into the empty half. The yolk 

 is then dried on a filter paper. The shell is also dried on a 

 filter. The yolk and shell are then weighed. The difference 

 between the sum of their weights and the original weight of 

 the unbroken egg gives the weight of albumen. 



