PREPARATION OF FROZEN AND DRIED EGGS. 9 
It was also observed that the arm could empty cups more quickly than the nose 
could notify the brain of the odor of the contents. For example, a breaker may be 
surprised to find that she has puta ‘“‘light must” or a “‘beginning sour” into the con- 
tainer for good eggs before her mind has apprised her of the character of the egg. 
For this reason a limit should be set to the number of eggs broken in a given time. 
Though the girls were not paid according to the quantity of work accomplished, there 
was an inherent tendency for some to break very rapidly. The supervisor should 
make it as much of a point to slacken the pace of these workers as to hurry those who 
are slow. With the present equipment and methods a girl should not break more 
than 16 eggs per minute, and if the breaking stock contains many bad eggs the limit 
should be reduced to 12. 
SEASONAL VARIATION IN QUALITY OF PRODUCT. 
The practical man is familiar with the seasonal variation in the quality of the egg 
supply. His knowledge is more often confined to the differences in the condition of 
the eggs in the shell than to that of the frozen and dried products. Since the latter, 
in the houses under observation, were prepared from eggs which were graded by the 
senses as fit for food purposes, this is to be expected since small differences in quality 
can only be detected by careful laboratory procedures. 
In order to determine what part weather conditions played in the ultimate product, 
samples were taken systematically in two houses during the season of 1912. 
TABLE 2.—Seasonal variation in bacterial content of commercial samples of mixed egg. 
(D house, 1912.) 
Ammoniacal nitrogen Average 
(Folin method). atmos- : 
F Rainfall 
Average pheric tem- : 
Number SSS during the 
Period of sarapling. of presse of pea nad ie Gs Bice 
Samples (| am Pie dave | Previous to 
per gram. | Wet basis. | Dry basis. ays | ‘sampling. 
before 
sampling 
Per cent. Per cent. SoH Inches. 
LS OFA: Meee oe ee 4 40s QODN rete vels linia ns Decals 79 0 
qansatesaitroya IG ee Saee  s6 ae eae 11 660, 000 0.0018 0. 0061 83 42 
PUNO M ALO). Me ess. TE nt 570, 000 . 0020 . 0067 74 2.78 
ATURE TI Ra) TP SBS cers dite 5 650, 000 . 0022 . 0072 83 12 
VULpAOLO Slt cee oe oe 10 | 1,400,000 . 0022 . 0070 93 . 80 
AVEO ONS Tame Sok 3 | 1,500,000 . 0020 - 0065 87 2.88 
TASTER COS 03 ee a 7| 1,700,000 . 0021 . 0068 87 3.97 
These studies show that there is a tendency for the bacterial count and the amount 
of ammoniacal nitrogen to increase as the egg-breaking season progresses (see Tables 
Zand E-IV, appendix, and figure 1). 
CLASSES OF EGGS PRESENTING SPECIAL PROBLEMS. 
LEAKING EGGS. 
Eggs with shell and inner membranes broken are termed ‘‘leakers’’ by the trade. 
There are all gradations, from the egg which has lost very little of its contents to the 
egg which has practically nothing left in its shell but the yolk. 
During periods of the year when receipts are low and the number of leakers conse- 
quently few, they are commonly sold in the shell to near-by consumers and employees 
of the packing house. In the season of heavy receipts, when there are more leakers 
than can be used locally, they are either thrown out with the rots or broken out and 
frozen. The second method of disposal is the one concerned in this investigation. 
Formerly if the leakers were to be conserved for food purposes, the candlers sorted 
these eggs from receipts as they worked and either broke them immediately into a 
container near by or placed them in pans or pails to be opened in another room. 
Neither method was satisfactory. If the eggs were opened in a dark candling room 
they could only be graded in the shell, which was insufficient. Then, too, it was 
impossible to break eggs under sanitary conditions in a candling room. On the other 
hand, if the leakers were placed in pails, the damage to the shell was increased, and 
