PRAIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK 



6. Breaking, either in the nest or from careless handling. 



7. Vermin. 



8. Filthy conditions. 



9. Careless packing. 



All of these losses can be reduced by the producer and, if 

 the carrier, jobber and retailer would cooperate, it would mean 

 the saving of $50,000,000 annually, or a half billion dollars in 

 a decade. 



Testing Eggs 



Testing or candling eggs is easily accomplished by placing 

 the egg between a strong light and the eye. Testers are made 

 especially for this purpose. The electric tester is probably 

 the most satisfactory. 



In candling for market the following defective eggs are de- 

 tected and rejected : 



Checks, eggs with cracked shells. 



Blood rings, eggs in which incubation has started but the 

 germ has died. 



Broken yolks, eggs in which the vitelline membrane has 

 ruptured and the contents of the yolk are diffused through the; 

 albumen. 



Spots ; these show a dead immovable germ or some foreign 

 substance in the egg or a clot of blood. 



Shrunken eggs, which are indicated by the large air cell. 



Rots, in which decomposition has set in and the contents 

 appear black. 



Eggs intended for hatching should be tested before being 

 set, and all that show the above characteristics should be 

 thrown out. 



Testing out Infertile Eggs 



It is customary to test eggs under incubation on the sev- 

 enth to the tenth day and again on the fifteenth to the 

 eighteenth day. The test is made in a warm room. The tray 

 from the incubator is placed on a low table and two baskets 

 are provided, one to receive the infertile eggs and the other 

 for those with dead germs and otherwise defective. Infertile 

 eggs will appear perfectly clear. Dead germs will often be 

 found adhering to the shell membrane. Shrunken eggs will 

 show an excessively large air space. If the air space is filled 



[73] 



