POULTRY NOTE^S I9II-I913. 



it>y 



assumes in other words that all that is added to the albumen 

 after the egg enters the isthmus is water. 



Clearly the only way to test finally the validity of this idea is 

 to make chemical determinations. What the figures from the 

 analyses show is that the oviduct agg has absolutely less nitro- 

 gen in its albumen than the normal laid egg of the same hen. 

 This, of course, is what would be expected if there is an actual 





























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Fig. 66. Diagram showing what percentage of the total amount of 

 albumen present in the normal laid ^^z is present at successive levels 

 in the oviduct. The smooth curve is the parabola for v/hich the equation 

 is given in the text. 



secretion of albumen by the glands of the isthmus and uterus, 

 and this secretion is added to the egg. It means that these 

 oviduct eggs have been removed before they received their full 

 amount of albumen. If it were the case, on the contrary, that 

 only water was added to the egg after it left the albumen por- 

 tion of the duct, it would be expected that the amount of nitro- 

 gen would be the same in an oviduct egg from the isthmus or 

 uterus as in the normal laid egg. The chemical data clearly 

 indicate that there is a definite addition of albumen to the egg 

 in the isthmus and shell gland and thai the "thin" layer doe^ 

 not represent solely a dilution of the "thick" layer. 



