EGGS AND IXCUBATION 



501 







then placed on the market. Often the eggs are very poor, 

 especially during the sununer season. Eggs from stolen 

 nests, dirt j^ nests, from held-over 

 stock, etc., find their way into 

 the same case, and form a motley 

 collection. The careful dealer 

 sorts these, candles them, and 

 tries to grade them before plac- 

 ing them on the market. 



The grades of eggs on the 

 market differ to a considerable 

 extent, and in some places 

 more than in others. Large 

 markets like New York or Boston 

 handle the most grades. Pro- 

 fessor Philips gives the follow- 

 ing classification as an ideal 

 way to grade eggs :* 



Extras. Weigh 28-26 ozs. naturally and absolutely clean; fresh 

 and sound. 



No. 1. Weigh 26-24 ozs., sound, fresh, and reasonably clean. 

 No. 2. Shrunken or stale, washed, small, stained and dirty. 

 No. 3. Checks — cracked, but not leaking. 

 No. 4. Rots. Incubator and decomposed eggs. 



New York quotation on eggs in November, 1921, showed the follow- 

 ing grades and prices. 



California whites-Extra firsts 70c 



Extra firsts bS'A-QOc. 



First grade firsts 50-54c. 



Refrigerator firsts 343-^-35J/2C- 



Refrigerator seconds 30c. 



The preservation of eggs during low prices, to sell when 

 they are high, is a common practice. The egg easily spoils 

 under a hot sun or in warm moist weather. Germs of rot 

 develop rapidly in the egg at 55 degrees or higher, con- 

 sequently it is desirable to keep them below this temperature 

 until they can be used. In cold storage, it is preferred that 

 a temperature of 34 degrees be maintained. 



Figure 241. — Sorted vs. un- 

 sorted eggs. Photograph from 

 Ohio State University. 



♦Bulletin No. 1G2, Kansas Experiment Station, p. 251. 



