EGGS A NECESSARY OF LIFE. 129 



LESSON XV, 



Eggs and Egg Production. 



IN tbis lesson n e consiiler the egg and the suliject ol egg jiroiluution from tlie "business"" 

 point of view, and lor the coninion people not versed in iiny of Ibe "oiogie.«" into wliict* 

 tlie study of the egj? is most iittingly introduced, or vvhicli may be applied most intei e>t- 

 ingly to the examination of the egg and the problems of egg produetion. 



The egg owes its great commercial importance first of all to its food value. In it we have^ 

 comliined as in few other simple food articles tlie qualities of delicacy and sulistantial nourish- 

 ing quality. Eggs alone constitute an important article of diet. But in the average family or 

 hostelry their use as a separate article of diet is second in importance to their use as an Ingredi- 

 ent in an almost endless variety ol dishes. Except in the homes of tjje well to do the ut of 

 the egg as a separate article of diet dei)ends largely on the relative prices of eggs and meat, the 

 general tendency lieing to use eggs freely when they are cheaper thau the po|iular cuts of meat, 

 and to lie economical in their use when the meats are cheaper. 



The matter of cost also enters into the question of the free or economical use of eggs in cook- 

 ing, though not to the same extent, for so many are the common dlslies requiring eggs for their 

 preparation that it is impossible for most housewives to make any considerable i eduction in the 

 quantiiy of eggs used in that way without entirely changing the ordinary bill of fare. 



As lack of freshness and flavor are less noticeable in eggs when mixed with other article", it 

 becomes possible, and is customary to use as "cooking eggs" eggs which served separately to 

 most people would be rather unpalatal)le. Indeed it is a matter of common knowledge among 

 poultrymen that the infertile eggs from an incubator, tested out the fourth or fifth day, fiuJ 

 ready sale to bakers — and possibly also to go into channels of more particular trade. Eggs 

 preserved by various processes or kept in cold storage, and "hekl" eggs, that Is, eggs kept 

 without preservatives by the producers for weeks or even months in anticipation of risinsj 

 jirices, are also salable as "cooking" CL'gs. Of course these inferior eggs from various sources 

 are not as good even for cooking as nice, fresh eggs, but so many people are satisfied to n>e 

 them when the prices of fresh eggs are very high, that almost any kind of an egg that is not 

 actually bad will sell readily for cooking purposes. 



Egsrs sell according to their quality as they reach the buyer. Thisis true as a general proposi- 

 tion — though some exceptions and seeming exceptions to the rule may be found. If they 

 reach the buyer in as good condition as they left the producer there is no occasion for difler- 

 encesof opinion as to quality and value, but it is only when they go direct from producer to 

 consumer that this is, generally speaking, possible. Most producers of eggs must send their 

 goods to the consumer through channels ol trade which require several transfers, more or le-* 

 delay, and sometimes exposure to deteriorating influences. Sometimes the producer can exert 

 some degree of control over the vicissitudes to which the egg in transit is subjected by investi- 

 gating the course his goods take after leaving him, and selling to the middlemen who get Ihenj 

 into consumption by the most direct route and with the least possible delay. It might he sup- 

 posed that as a matter of business every dealer in produce would do that, but as a matter of 

 fact there Is a great deal of slackness in the handling of eggs, much more than in the handling 

 ol poultry, which more quickly shows deterioration whether alive or dead. 



