186 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. 



in the duck's egg exceed those in a hen's egg by about 

 one-fourth. According to Dr. Edward Smith, in his 

 treatise on " Food," an egg weighing an ounce and 

 three-quarters consists of 120 grains of carbon, and 

 eighteen and three-quarter grains of nitrogen, or 1525 

 per cent, of carbon and two per cent, of nitrogen. 

 The value of one pound of eggs, as food for sustain- 

 ing the active forces of the body, is to the value 

 of one pound of lean beef as 1,584 to 900. As a flesh- 

 producer, one pound of eggs is about equal to one pound 

 of beef. 



The consumption of poultry and eggs is so large in 

 this country as almost to exceed belief. 



Besides our foreign supplies the home production is 

 considerable. The Midland Railway brings up 150 tons 

 of eggs, and the Great Eastern over 5,000 tons of 

 poultry and game, annually. But this is a mere flea-bite 

 in the course of the year. It is no uncommon thing in 

 the early spring months for the Aylesbury Railway to 

 carry two or three tons weight of ducklings and eggs in 

 one night to London, and nearly £20,000 per annum is 

 returned for ducks to the neighbourhood of Aylesbury 

 alone. Ireland produces nearly 500,000,000 eggs, and 

 the Continent supplies us with over 940,000,000 ; and 

 if to this is added the annual production of Great 

 Britain, the enormous consumption may be approxi- 

 mately estimated. 



In 1850 we only imported 105^ millions of eggs from 

 abroad; in 1870 this had risen to 431 millions, in 1878 

 to 784f millions, in 1883 to nearly 940^ millions, and 

 probably as many more eggs are consumed of home pro- 

 duction. 



Value of the eggs imported into the United 

 Kingdom : — 



1861 ... £550,557 I 1881 ... .£2,322,607 

 1871 ... 1,263,612 | 1883 ... 2,732,055 



Eggs therefore form no unimportant item in the 

 Englishman's bill of fare. On eggs and milk, indeed, 



