490 POULTRY CULTURE 



be recognized by the increased color of the yolk; when held 

 before the candle it will appear heavy and slightly darker than 

 the fertile egg. 



(b) Shrunken egg. This class of eggs can be easily distin- 

 guished by the size of the air-cell. It may occupy from one- 

 fifth to one-third of the space inside the shell. The holding of 

 eggs for a sufficient length of time to allow a portion of the 

 contents to evaporate is the main cause of this condition. 



(c) Small egg. Any egg that will detract from the appear- 

 ance of normal eggs on account of its small size will come under 

 this class, although it may be a new laid egg. 



{d) Dirty egg. Fresh eggs which have been soiled with earth, 

 droppings, or egg contents, or badly stained by coming in con- 

 tact with wet straw, hay, etc. 



(e) Watery egg. Those in which the inner membrane of the 

 air-cell is ruptured, allowing the air to escape into the contents 

 of the egg, and thereby giving a watery or frothy appearance. 



(/) Presence of foreign matter in eggs. This condition is 

 found in many new laid eggs, and has the appearance of a small 

 dark streak or clot of blood — often eggs are laid which show 

 small clots about the size of a pea. These are sometimes 

 termed "liver" or "meat" spots. 



(g) Badly misshapen eggs. Eggs which are extremely long 

 or very flat, or in which part of the shell's surface is raised in 

 the form of a ring; in other instances a number of hard wart- 

 like growths appear on the outside of the shell. 



The following classes are to be rejected as worthless: 

 • Leakers. — As indicated by the name, this term applies to eggs 

 which have lost a part of their contents, and eggs so badly 

 broken that they cannot be safely transported in cases. These 

 should be saved by breaking into cans and frozen. 



Spots. — Eggs in which bacteria or mold growth has devel- 

 oped locally and caused the formation of a lumpy adhesion 

 on the inside of the shell. There are three well-recognized 

 classes of mold-spots, namely, white, brown, and black. In 

 cases where an infertile egg has been subjected to natural 

 heat for a sufficient time the yolk will often settle and be- 

 come fixed to the membrane. This condition might be termed 

 a "plain spot." 



