6 BULLETIN 224, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
lessened because the cool air of the chilled breaking rooms prevented the formation 
of water by condensation. D house and E house in 1912, because of adequate refrig- 
eration, were not troubled with wet-shelled eggs. As would be expected, dirty eggs 
through contact with the girls’ fingers furnished more bacteria to the product, other 
conditions being equal, than did clean eggs. It was also observed that the breaking 
of eggs with hands constantly wet with egg not only made the skin tender and often- 
times painfully sore, but also increased the number of bacteria in the product. This 
condition parallels that obnoxious practice in the dairy industry of milking with wet 
hands. The handling of the egg with the tips of the fingers, thereby preventing the 
rest of the hand from becoming wet, and the frequent drying of the ends of the 
fingers with tissue paper, not only made it possible for the girls to keep their hands 
in good condition, but also presented a practical means of lessening contamination. 
The bacteria furnished to the fingers by the outside of the egg were few compared 
with those derived from the contents of an infected egg, such as a sour egg or egg 
with a green white. Bacterial examination showed that the thorough washing and 
drying of hands after breaking a bad egg was the only means of avoiding this con- 
tamination. These findings are illustrated in Plate 1, figure 4; Plate II, figures 2 
and 3; and Plate III, figure 4. 
A very common practice was the use of rags, always unsightly, interchangeably for 
wiping utensils, hands, and the floor. The bacterial examination of water wrung from 
such cloths revealed hundreds of millions of organisms. These agents, instead of 
cleaning, spread the dirt. The improvement in the manipulation of the egg, the 
devising of an outfit suitable for breaking eggs, and the introduction of tissue paper 
and paper towels for drying hands, practically abolished the use of cloths except for 
cleaning the tables. These few cloths could readily be laundered, or sterilized, after 
each day’s work, so that they could be kept sweet and clean. These changes elimi- 
nated a number of the sources of contamination of the product and did much to im- 
prove the appearance of the breaking room as well. 
The introduction of pails in place of shipping cases to convey the eggs from the 
candling to the breaking rooms eliminated considerable dust and litter. ‘The devising 
of a tray for the holding of leaking eggs made it possible to carry them to the breaking 
room in a clean condition (see Plate VIII, figure 1; Plate IX, figure 1; and Plate 
XIII, figure 2.) 
As can readily be seen from this discussion, the laboratory findings practically 
revolutionized the apparatus used and the routine followed in the breaking room. 
Instead of the haphazard collection of odd pieces of china, glass, and tin, there were 
evolved machines accurately adapted to the work to be done; and the careless, incon- 
sequent methods of cracking and emptying the shells were replaced by a standardized, 
eee routine, making for both quality and efficiency. 
GRADING THE BREAKING STOCK BY CANDLING. 
The classes of eggs principally used for breaking were seconds, cracked, and dirty 
eggs. It is to be expected that eggs sold for breaking stock would contain a-higher 
percentage of loss than would eggs sold as current receipts, and such, by actual obser- 
vation, was found to be the case. Comparative data collected in D house showed, as 
illustrated in Table 1, that from eggs purchased especially for breaking 6.6 per cent 
of bad eggs were rejected in July and 10.6 per cent in August, whereas from its cur- 
rent receipts only 3.5 per cent were discarded in July and only 3.1 per cent in August. 
TaBLE 1.—Condensed candling reports of D house. 
I. CURRENT RECEIPTS. 
Total Firsts, seconds, 
Month. receipts. checks. Bail epes: : 
Dozen. Dozen. | Per cent.| Dozen. | Percent. 
UHC 2a tate. Soe eee ee eee ee eee 85,0832 | 83,730c 98. 4 1, 3534 1.6 
ADI ols 5 See, ts ee eae mee it ce Tete sar oe 53,10935| 51, 2658 96. 5 1, 84335 3.5 
PATI SUS Grae sein oo hiole Sas Sole a ae ome eT ee 72,0402 | 69,7814 96.9 2, 2594 3.1 
7 97) £7 Ms ar ea Pes hse eg “tsk 210, 133§ | 204, 7773 97.4 | 5, 45625 2.6 
II. EGGS SHIPPED TO D HOUSE FOR BREAKING PURPOSES. 
Month. | Total. | Seconds and checks, 
receipts. good eggs. Bad eggs. 
Dozen. Dozen. Per cent.| Dozen. | Per 4 
Sar byeee sete ee SEE RTA CER a ita AL DD Sale Sede 27,0244 | 25,230 93. 4 1, 7944 6.6 
ATIZUSE Jeb Sacre Se ee MOE fon. ere Vie! 27,9484 | 24,9533 89.3 2,9944 10.6 
Tei SAAN Maas a a SE US | 54,97275| 50,1832} 91.3 4, 788 | 8.7 
i) 
