HEAT LOSSES 



419 



tion. It is a natural evaporation of the contents of the egg, re- 

 sulting in an air cell which is familiar to all, and cannot be over- 

 come. 



Excessive shrinkage, badly shrunken eggs, is another matter. 

 Its responsibility usually commences on the farm, due to holding 

 the eggs too long, though the rural buyer or country store and 

 the egg-collecting center are in no wise innocent of the same poor 

 practice. Actual physical deterioration, or total loss, as de- 



(Courtesy U. S. Dep't Agriculture) 

 Fig. 270. — Candling eggs at the farmer's gate. 



scribed in the foregoing rules of the Mercantile Exchange, is 

 still another matter, and includes such depreciation as heat affec- 

 tion, bacterial contamination, mustiness, mold and sour eggs. 

 The conditions which bring about these changes are almost 

 wholly due to negligence and antiquated methods. They are 

 unpardonable because in the main they are preventable. 



Heat Losses. — As might be supposed, heat is the worst enemy 

 of the egg. The loss to the trade as the result of heated eggs is 



