PREPARING POULTRY PRODUCTS 467 



the shell, grow and move through the pores and finally 

 reach the egg contents. 



Dirty nests, particularly those fouled with droppings, 

 are a prolific source of infection. An egg has the same tem- 

 perature when first laid as the hen laying it. As soon as the 

 hen leaves the nest it begins to cool, and the contents to 

 contract. If the egg is smeared with fresh manure, some of 

 the organisms in it will be drawn through the pores and 

 find their way into the egg. Wiping the egg with a damp 

 cloth only makes matters worse. It dissolves off the bloom, 

 thus opening up the pores, and rubs the organisms into them, 

 leaving the egg moist. It may be that the eggs are then 

 carried to a cool cellar, which will cause further contraction of 

 the contents. 



Care must also be taken not to remove eggs from a very 

 cool cellar into the heat of a warm summer day. The moisture 

 vapor of the atmosphere will condense on the cool surface 

 of the egg, causing it to " sweat." Moisture is favorable to 

 the entrance and development of microorganisms whenever 

 it finds its way onto the shell of the egg. 



A damp cellar is favorable to the development of mould in 

 the content of the egg, which occurs even at cold storage 

 temperatures (29° to 31°). 



Bushnell and Maurer^ found that the keeping quality does 

 not necessarily run parallel with the amount of bacterial 

 infection. The keeping quality is determined by the kinds 

 of bacteria present rather than the numbers. 



This fact must not lead one to underestimate the sig- 

 nificance of infection with regard to spoilage. While not 

 all eggs that contain bacteria will spoil, it is only those eggs 

 which do contain bacterial or other microorganisms that 

 can spoil to any considerable extent. Further, from a prac- 

 tical stand-point, it is impossible to distinguish between 

 different kinds of infection. The only safe practice is to 

 avoid infection in every way possible. 



As has been noted in connection with feeding, the bacterial 

 contents of eggs is increased by feeding wet mash as compared 



' Unpublished data, Kansas Kxperiment Station. 



