COMMERCIAL EGGS I]N^ THE CENTRAL WEST. 5 
The eggs were from sources comparatively close to the investigators ; 
that is, the haul was seldom more than 200 miles. Had the eggs not 
been broken at these first, or, at most, second concentrating centers, 
the probability is that they would have been shipped a four to seven 
days' haul before reaching a consuming center. They were, there- 
fore, in a correspondingly better condition because broken nearer 
their point of origin. The field work reported was carried on dur- 
ing the summers of 1911, when exceptionally hot weather prevailed 
over an unusually wide territory, and 1912, which was not an un- 
usual summer in any respect. The individual eggs, however, were 
studied between the winter of 1910 and the autumn of 1912. 
To comprehend the egg on the market it is necessary to determine 
first the condition of the absolutely fresh egg, that a standard of 
comparison may be obtained, and then the condition of the eggs on 
the market to see wherein and how much they differ from the fresh 
article. It is also highly desirable to observe the character of the 
eggs bought- by the housewives at the corresponding time, in the 
same locality, to see whether there are any material differences be- 
tween the eggs broken for home -cookery and those broken by the egg 
canner who supplies the public baker. 
FRESH EGGS. 
BACTERIAL CONTENT. 
The chemical and bacteriological characteristics of perfectly fresh 
eggs — that is, eggs which are not more than 24 hours old and which 
are kept in a cool place — have been given by the first author of this 
report in a previous communication, entitled "A Chemical and Bac- 
teriological Study of Fresh Eggs."^ In this study 150 high-quality 
eggs, not more than 24 hours old, were examined for the bacterial 
content in white and yolk. A strictly fresh egg is pictured in Plate I 
(see at end of this bulletin). Aseptic precautions were used in ob- 
taining samples and all the work was done on the basis of weight, 
not volume, since the latter introduces a decided error in so viscous 
a substance as egg. A summary of the results shows that there was 
found an average of 2 organisms per gram in the white and 6 per 
gram in the yolk when the incubation temperature was 37° C, and 
T organisms per gram in the white and 9 per gram in the yolk when 
the incubation was at 20° C. It may be said that these eggs were 
gathered between February and November, inclusive. 
Stiles and Bates,^ in a recent study of 616 fresh eggs gathered 
between April and October, found that the average infected yolk 
contained 271.7 organisms to the cubic centimeter and the infected 
white 15.9 organisms. They also found, however, that in 13.99 per 
iJ. Biol. Chem., 191.0, 7 (2) : 109. 
2 A Bacteriological Study of Shell, Frozen and Desiccated Eggs Made Under Laboratory 
Conditions. U. S. Dept. Agr., Bureau of Chemistry Bui. 158, 1912. 
