On the Preservation of Eggs 



297 



of turning over was supposed to alter the position of the yolk and to 

 hinder the yolk of the egg from adhering to the shell ; decomposition 

 setting in much more rapidly where the yolk adheres to the shell in 

 an ordinary atmosphere. This process, while having some good in it, 

 has not, I believe, been commercially successful, and I have not heard 

 of its being adopted anywhere except by the patentee. 



Eggs have also been preserved in powdered peat dust, and in this 

 way kept for considerable periods. Experiments made, however, with 

 ground peat for this purpose proved, with me, quite unsuccessful. 



This year very large quantities of eggs have been broken and 

 stored in a liquid condition. Sometimes the setters say " with 1 per 

 cent, of salt," and sometimes with a "small percentage of boric acid." 

 In other instances they declare that they are prepared " by a patented 

 process." 



I have tried samples of a considerable number of brands of such 

 eggs but have always found them very weak, the whites having 

 become watery. Frequently the setters request that a small quantity 

 of bicarbonate of soda shall be added to the eggs before use. This 

 to some extent helps them, but I have never found that liquid eggs 

 are economical or satisfactory in use. They are, I believe, usually 

 prepared from stale goods which, owing to a sudden glut or altered 

 weather conditions, cannot be sold before they would go bad, and 

 have thus to be broken and kept in liquid condition by the addition 

 of chemicals. This material is often named " melange," and is, I 

 believe, used in some cases for other than food purposes. 



Egg albumin is prepared in considerable quantities on the Con- 

 tinent, and sold at very varying prices. Desiccated yolk and mixed 

 white and yolk are also regular articles of commerce, but the results in 

 use — whether from adulteration or some change taking place in the 

 preparation — are not altogether satisfactory. 



E. H. 



