THE POULTRY AND EGG INDUSTRY IN EUROPE 47 
vent the molding of the eggs. The better packers are very particu- 
lar oa this point, spreading out the wood wool or the straw often in 
the sun, but usually in lofts, so that it becomes perfectly dry. 
In Italy straw is used more extensively than wood wool. In 
Yugoslavia, Rumania, Hungary, Ukraine, Poland, Ireland, and 
the Netherlands wood wool is used almost entirely. In Denmark 
a combination of straw and wood wool is used. 
METHODS OF PACKING FOR EXPORT 
After the eggs have been candled they are handled on large trays, 
as in Denmark or the Netherlands, holding from 60 to 100 eggs, or 
they are placed in single boxes holding up to half a case of 720 
eggs, or in double boxes holding a full export case of eggs. The 
eggs then go to the packers, whose sole duty it is to grade them for 
size, cleanliness, color, where color selections are made, and pack 
them in the cases. The method of packing is as follows : 
Usually two packers work on one case, with the case between 
them. A layer of straw or wood wool is placed in the box; then, 
by taking 3 eggs in each hand, a layer of eggs made up of 10 rows 
of 18 each is placed in each half box. The eggs in each row lie side 
by side, touching each other. The rows themselves are slightly 
staggered, so that the points of one row fit in between the ends of 
the eggs in adjacent rows. By taking 3 eggs in each hand, the 
counting becomes more or less automatic, as 3 double handfuls fill a 
row and 30 double handfuls a whole layer. A layer of packing 
material is then placed upon the eggs and the process repeated until 
there are four layers of eggs in the crate, or 1,440 eggs, with pack- 
ing material on top. The packing material projects above the box 
so that it is compressed when the lid is nailed on. The lid, com- 
posed usually of three pieces of sufficient width to allow a space of 
about one-half inch between the pieces, is nailed lengthwise across 
the case, special care being taken to nail it into each center partition. 
In packing small eggs, 21 are placed in a row, made up of Sy 2 
double handfuls, 35 double handfuls filling the layer, in which event 
the case contains 1,680 .eggs. 
Two packers working together fill from 3 to 5 cases per hour. 
They become so skillful at grading the eggs for size that the net 
weights of the eggs will approximate the standards used upon the 
market for which the eggs are designed. For instance, eggs marked 
for the English market at 16 pounds to the long hundred of 10 dozen 
will weigh within an ounce or two of 16 pounds. Eggs for Berlin, 
weighing 60 kilograms to the thousand, will not be many grams 
away from the marked weight, 
This style of package is not fitted for the packing of eggs of un- 
graded sizes. If small e^gs alternate with large eggs spaces are left 
in the rows, which permits movements of the eggs in the cases, with 
consequent breakage. This may be one reason why eggs are sold by 
weight so extensively in Europe. 
The weight of a full case of eggs varies from 200 to 225 pounds 
and requires two men to handle it. 
Because of the different standards of weight and sizes of egg pack- 
ages used in the various countries the following table of weight con- 
versions offers a chance to comprehend more easily the relation 
