COMMEECIAL EGGS IN" THE CENTRAL WEST. 7 
absolutely fresh eggs, as well as with, the eggs put up for bakers' 
use. Accordingly, ten open-market purchases were made of eggs as 
they went to the consumer, and anatytical data and candling records 
obtained, using the same method as in the case of the fresh eggs. 
The results are given in Table 3. 
Table 3. — Eggs from grocery store. 
Sample 
No. 
Date of 
collec- 
tion. 
Cost per 
dozen. 
Sold for— 
Ammoni- 
acal 
nitrogen 
(Folm 
method), 
wet 
basis. 
Size of 
sample. 
Description of sample un- 
der candle. 
589 
590 
1911. 
Aug. 25 . 
...do.... 
...do.... 
...do.... 
Sept. 5.. 
...do.... 
...do.... 
...do.... 
...do.... 
1912. 
June 19 . 
SO. 25 
.20 
.20 
.20 
.25 
.20 
.20 
.15 
.20 
.175 
'•'Strictly fresh eggs" car- 
ton packpd. 
"Good eggs". . 
Per cent. 
0.0011 
.0018 
.0014 
.0014 
.0010 
.0014 
.0022 
.0021 
.0013 
.0010 
Eggs. 
24 
24 
24 
24 
24 
24 
24 
12 
s 
Fresh. 
Seconds. 
591 
592 
636 
637 
do 
do 
"Strictly fresh eggs'' car- 
ton packed. 
"Good eggs". . 
Mixed firsts and seconds. 
4 shrunken eggs, 5 very stale 
eggs, 1 blood ring. 
5 seconds. 
638 
639 
do 
22 stale eggs. 
9 stale eggs, 1 hatch-spot egg, 
1 blood ring. 
5 slightly heated. 
Fresh. 
640 
"Fresh eggs".. 
Dirtv eggs 
Bacterially these eggs did not differ from the strictly fresh eggs. 
According to the content of ammoniacal nitrogen they varied from 
absolutely fresh to the usual stale, but not rotten, eggs. The price 
usually, but not invariably, was in accord with the quality. The 
carton-packed eggs were individually marked with the sign, of the 
producer, who had a reputation for quality to maintain. 
RELATION BETWEEN BACTERIAL MULTIPLICATION AND CHEMICAL 
CHANGES. 
Experiments have shown that evidences of bacterial decomposition 
can not be recognized b}^ the sense of sight and smell until the organ- 
isms have increased enormously in the food substance. 
There is an interesting problem involved in the study of the rela- 
tion between bacterial multiplication and chemical evidences of the 
metabolic and catabolic changes that must accompany life processes. 
Bacteria to the number of millions per gram have been considered 
evidences of an altered chemical composition. Yet more recent obser- 
vations would indicate that, for certain substances at least, the number 
of organisms must approach the 100 million per gram mark before 
the analytical methods for the detection of substances indicative of 
bacterial life can be applied satisfactorily. Such, for example, has 
been the finding of Hastings, Evans, and Hart.^ who have studied 
1 Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station Research Bui. 25. 
