PREPARING POULTRY PRODUCTS 479 



5. The eggs were taken to market twice a week and care- 

 fully protected from the sun on the way to town. 



6. AH eggs that were small, dirty, misshapen, or found in 

 stolen nests, were kept for home use.' 



Home Preservation of Eggs. — Commercially, poultry prod- 

 ucts are preserved most largely by the aid of artificial 

 refrigeration. In the case of eggs, they are also preserved 

 by breaking out of the shell and drying. The dried product 

 is packed in barrels for shipping, but for best results must 

 be kept under refrigeration when held for any length of time. 

 This dried product is soluble and is usually dissolved in water 

 before using. 



For home preservation, the most successful method yet 

 devised seems to be with the aid of water glass (soluble sodium 

 silicate). A 10 per cent, solution is made by adding one part 

 of the water glass to nine parts of boiled rain-water that has 

 been cooled. March and April eggs, preferably infertile, 

 give the best results. The solution should be put in an open 

 crock or glazed jar and the eggs immersed as they are gathered 

 every day. At least, two inches of the solution should always 

 be above the top layer of eggs. The eggs should be placed in 

 the solution with the large end of the egg uppermost, so 

 that the contents of the egg will not rest on the air cell and 

 rupture the inner shell membrane. Piercing the air cell 

 with a coarse needle just before cooking will prevent the 

 cracking of the shell caused by the expansion of the air cell 

 upon boiling. 



While this method is fairly successful for home preser- 

 vation, such eggs are not considered desirable for general 

 market purposes, because they are unsuited for preservation 

 by the ordinary commercial methods after being preserved 

 in water glass. In most states it is unlawful to expose them 

 for sale without labelling them "pickled" or "preserved" eggs. 



