264 COMMERCIAL POULTRY RAISING 



That is — it will do so providing the egg is fresh. These cords, 

 or chalaza, lose strength with age, the albumen becomes thin and 

 watery, and the yolk, instead of being supported in the center of 

 the white, settles or gravitates to the surface, where it finally 

 adheres to the membranous lining of the shell. In time the 

 vitelline membrane which surrounds the yolk loses its strength 

 and ruptures, and thereby allows the escape of the yellow sub- 

 stance — called the vitellus — into the albumen. 



(Courtesy Million Egg Farm) 

 Fig. i66. — Turning and cooling eggs for hatching. 



There are several fallacies in connection with the production 

 of eggs which all breeders should aim to clarify. One is that a 

 pen of fowls must be headed by a male bird for the production of 

 eggs. Another idea is that only fertile eggs contain life germs, 

 sometimes called germinal spots. Still another supposition is 

 that the germ contains an infinitesimally small chick, and that 

 the process of development is simply enlargement. All of these 

 ideas are logical enough in their conception- nevertheless all 

 are wrong. 



