CHAPTER XI 
QUALITY IN EGGS* 
Because of the readiness with which eggs spoil, the term 
“fresh” has become synonymous with the idea of desirable 
quality in eggs. As a matter of fact the actual age of an egg 
is quite subordinate to other factors which affect the quality. 
An egg forty-eight hours old that has lain in a wheat shock 
during a warm July rain, would probably be swarming with 
bacteria and be absolutely unfit for food. Another egg stored 
eight months in a first-class cold storage room would be per- 
fectly wholesome. 
Grading Eggs. 
Eggs are among the most difficult of food products to grade, 
because each egg must be considered separately and because 
the actual substance of the egg cannot be examined without 
destroying the egg. From external appearance, eggs can be 
selected for size, color, cleanliness of shell and freedom from 
cracks. This is the common method of grading in early spring 
when the eggs are uniformly of good quality. 
Later in the season the egg candle is used. In the technical 
sense any kind of a light may be used as an egg candle. A 
sixteen candle power electric lamp is the most desirable. The 
light is enclosed in a dark box, and the eggs are held against 
openings about the size of a half dollar. The candler holds 
the egg large end upward, and gives it a quick turn in order 
to view all sides, and to cause the contents to whirl within the 
shell. To the expert this process reveals the actual condi- 
tion of the egg to an extent that the novice can hardly realize. 
The art of egg candling cannot be readily taught by worded 
description. One who wishes to learn egg candling had best 
go to an adept in the art, or he may begin unaided and by 
breaking many eggs learn the essential points. 
*Much of the matter in this and the following chapter is 
taken from the writer’s report of the egg trade of the United 
States, published as Circular 140 of the Bureau of Annual 
Industry of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. In the 
present volume, however, I have inserted some additional 
matters which policy forbade that I discuss in a Federal docu- 
ment. 
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