34 BULLETIN 224, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
The sterilizers were built of galvanized iron in two compartments, and had shelves 
formed of perforated pipes which supplied the steam. A flue from the top of the 
box was connected with a damper and a fan in order to remove the steam quickly 
after the sterilization was finished. A thermometer, especially constructed for such 
work, was a necessary part of the apparatus. One sterilizer was used for cups exclu- 
sively and was supplied with wire-bottomed trays which rested on the steam pipes 
and were made to fit the space. The other sterilizer was used for buckets, shell tubs, © 
and other bulky equipment. An auxiliary wash room with a sink and a sterilizer 
was a part of the drying-room equipment. 
CONDITIONS PREVAILING EVERY THIRD WEEK FROM APRIL TO SEPTEMBER. 
Visit No. 1 (April 22 to 27). 
There were seven visits of one week each made to E house during the season of 1912. 
At the time of the first visit the refrigerating machinery was not in operation, but the 
temperature in the candling room and the breaking room was from 60° F. to 65° F., 
due to the cool weather. 
Steam was plentiful and the 
sterilizers and wash room 
breaking room had _ the 
equipment already de- 
scribed, with the exception 
of the new breaking outfit. 
A makeshift was used while 
waiting until the new forms 
of apparatus arrived. It was 
sloppy; therefore, the girls 
were forced to use cloths to 
wipe tables, cups, hands, 
and, sometimes, the floor. 
These rags were always wet 
and always unsightly. A 
bacterial examination of the 
water squeezed from 12 of 
them showed that they were 
carrying germs to the num- 
ber of 150,000,000 to each 
cubic centimeter. Until the 
improved apparatus was ob- 
tained it Nie decided ie 
—Egg- cing substitute clean pleces oO 
Fic. 6.—Egg-breaking outfit (E house, 1912) escalate hee ena 
criminate rags and to wash and sterilize them twice daily. The breakers were 
provided with clean white gowns and caps. Each girl was given a clean towel every 
morning. he 
All apparatus which came in contact with the egg was sterilized after washing, and 
laboratory tests showed that it was free from bacteria, with the exception of the troughs 
and brushes used to feed and spread the egg on the drying belt. This difficulty was 
partially corrected by lengthening the period of steaming, and plans were made to 
obtain a duplicate set of these devices to permit of sterilizing after each run, | 
The supply of eggs.—During this period the egg supply of this house consisted of 
dirty and cracked eggs sorted by other firms from lots going into. storage. It was 
the custom in this house to candle all incoming stock, regardless of the season. The 
candlers found a sufficiently large number of incubator rots to warrant this extra 
grading before submitting the eggs to the breakers. At this season the eggs were 
purchased on the ‘‘case-count”’ basis. é : 
Breaking-room routine.—There were employed at this time 15 girls, with an average 
output of 14 cases per girl per day of 10 hours. Very few of these girls had been egg 
breakers. It was deemed best to instruct from the start rather than to remodel objec- 
tionable fixed habits. A foreman accustomed to ruling girls, but ignorant of the 
business of egg breaking, was in charge. i 
The girls were drilled in the essentials of bacterial cleanliness as well as in the 
grading of the eggs. They were instructed to wash their hands after a bad egg and 
to dry them before returning to work. While working, fingers were to be kept dry 
by means of tissue paper. The aim, however, was so to handle the eggs that the 
were in operation. The | 
