28 BULLETIN 471, t\ S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
These statements must not be understood as advocating a free use 
of eggs at any price, but merely as pointing out that even at the 
higher prices the occasional use of eggs in place of meat need not be 
regarded as a luxury. This is illustrated by observations made by 
Miss Isabel Bevier and Miss M. E. Sprague 1 during a dietary study 
of some 115 women, most of them college students. It was found that 
the amount of certain foods required for a single meal, Avhen any one 
of them was served, was: Beefsteak, 36 pounds; mutton chops, -45 
pounds; hamburg steak, 24 pounds; sausage, 30 pounds; bacon, 12 
pounds: dried beef. 4 pounds; and eggs, 15 pounds, or 10 dozen. 
At the price at which board was furnished, steaks and chops were 
too expensive for use as breakfast dishes. At the time the study was 
made bacon and dried beef were both considered cheap. Hamburg 
steak and sausage were regarded as practicable and were occasionally 
used, but eggs at 22 cents per dozen were thought expensive and at 25 
cents per dozen so dear that they could not be used. Yet, as the study 
showed, at either price the quantity of eggs actually required to 
satisfy the members of the club cost less than the amount needed of 
any of the foods except bacon and dried beef. Furthermore, it was 
easier to utilize boiled eggs not consumed at table than the left-overs 
of meat. It appears, therefore, that in this case, as regards both 
economy and palatability, the use of eggs as a breakfast dish was 
warranted, and the problem discussed is one worth a housekeeper's 
attention. 
The eggs, the steaks, and other materials used were not equivalent 
in nutritive value, but it must be remembered that other foods were 
served with the meat or eggs, and that the total amount of nutrients 
consumed at the meal need not have varied greatly from day to day, 
although the menu was quite different. Variety from meal to meal 
and from day to day is recognized as desirable in the daily diet, and 
this is another reason why such uses of eggs are worth considering. 
It is generally recognized that eggs require less time and labor for 
cooking than most common foods, and for this reason their use as the 
hot dish at a meal may often be an economy. There are undoubtedly 
cases in which a small saving of gas or other fuel is of importance, 
but in many others it is less important than a saving of time or labor. 
\Vithout question a reason for the popularity of eggs in most house- 
holds is that they may be so easily and quickly prepared for the table 
in appetizing ways. 
In the case of eggs, like other foods, the income and the need for 
economy must determine how far and in what ways they are to be 
used when they are high in price. Judged by their composition and 
digestibility, eggs are worthy of the high opinion in which they are 
J U. S. Dept. Agr., Office Expt. Stas. Bui. 91 (1900), and unpublished data furnished by 
Miss Sprague. 
