QUALITY IN EGGS 
injured by the mechanical mishap, but eggs so ruptured are 
usually discriminated against by candlers. 
In this connection it might be well to speak further of the 
subject of “white strength,” by which is meant the stiffness 
or viscosity of the egg white. The white of an egg is a limpid, 
clear liquid, but in the egg of good quality that portion im- 
mediately surrounding the yolk appears to be in a semi-solid 
mass. The cause of this appearance is the presence of an 
invisible network of fibrous material. By age and mechanical 
disturbance this network is gradually broken down and the 
liquid white separates out. Such a weak and watery white is 
usually associated with shrunken eggs. These eggs will not 
stand up well or whip into a firm froth and are thrown in 
lower grades. 
The weakness of the yolk membranes also increases with 
age, and is objectionable because the breakage of the yolk is 
unsightly and spoils the egg for poaching. 
The shrunken egg is most abundant in the fall, when the 
rising prices tempt the farmer and groceryman to hold the 
eggs. This holding is so prevalent, in fact, that from August 
to December full fresh eggs are the exception rather than 
the rule. 
While we have called attention to evaporation as the most 
pronounced fault of fall eggs, losses from other causes are 
greatly increased by the holding process. 
If the eggs are held in a warm place, heat and shrinkage 
will case the greatest damage; if held in a cellar, rot, mold, 
and bad odors will cause the chief loss. 
The loss due to shrunken eggs is not understood nor appre- 
ciated by those outside the trade. Such ignorance is due to 
the fact that the shrunken is not so repulsive as the rotten or 
heated egg. But the inferiority of the shrunken egg is so well 
appreciated by the consumer that high class dealers find it 
impossible to use them without ruining their trade. The 
result is that shrunken eggs are constantly being sent into the 
cheaper channels, with the result that all lower grades of eggs 
ae more depreciated in the fall of the year ‘than at any other 
tim. 
In the classes of spoiled eggs, of which we have thus far 
spoken, the proverbial rotten egg has not been considered. 
The term “rot” in the egg trade is used to apply to any egg 
absolutely unfit for food purposes. But I prefer to confine the 
term “rotten egg” to the egg which contains a growth of 
bacteria. 
The normal egg when laid is germ free. But the egg shell 
is not germ proof. The pores in the egg shell proper are large 
186 
