Method of Storing Eggs. 41 
will lay even 250 eggs in a year, there is no reason why a race could not be established which 
should do the same. 
The best nest-eggs we are acquainted with are those made of white china, as they keep clean 
and are easily washed. Enamelled wood are not so good, and lumps of chalk become very dirty 
in a little time. Some people make a small hole in a natural egg, expel the contents, and refill 
the shell with plaster of Paris ; this also makes a good nest-egg. The furnishing of an egg of 
some sort to every nest is very important, even in seasons when the birds are not laying, as it 
tends greatly to prevent the hens from laying away. When a hen has once laid in a nest, she 
forms generally an attachment to it ; hence the importance of inducing her to lay at home from the 
first, if the run be large. 
Occasionally hens acquire the vicious habit of eating their eggs. They are often literally 
taught to do this, by the foolish practice of breaking up egg-shells and giving them to eat ; but 
the most usual occasion of commencing the vice is an accidental breakage in the nest. If, for 
instance, a hen breaks one egg whilst sitting, she will sometimes (fortunately not often) break and 
eat the whole clutch afterwards. When the habit is detected early it may sometimes be cured, by 
filling an egg-shell with the strongest mustard which can be obtained, mixed rather thick, and 
placing it in the nest. Cayenne, as some recommend, does not answer, not having the yellow 
appearance of a yolk. The hen will endeavour to eat it, and, we need not say, gets punished 
rather severely. We have known this to cure the hen in two cases out of three, where tried ; if not, 
we should kill her, unless of particular value or a special pet. In that case the only plan is to 
form all the nests with a false bottom (as shewn in Fig. 24), on a plan contrived by an ingenious 
correspondent of the Journal of Horticulture. The board A forms an inclined plane, down which 
the egg rolls, and is directed by the second plane, B, into the receptacle beneath, being of course 
beyond the hen’s reach before she can peck at it. Another advantage of the plan is that where 
several hens use the same nest the eggs are not soiled, however dirty the weather. When the 
eggs are only wanted for eating, the boards should be covered with smooth matting or carpet, as 
advised by the inventor; but if required for setting, the striking on the board B might injure 
vitality, and B should therefore consist only of canvas stretched on a frame, and some' hay or 
other padding be put in the bottom. The only disadvantage of this nest is the difficulty of using 
a nest-egg ; but by sinking this half through the top board, as at C, and fastening with some 
cement, the object will be easily accomplished, and valuable hens may thus be saved whose lives 
otherwise must be sacrificed. A piece of carpet with a hole will form a similar false bottom. 
For storing eggs, a very good plan is to have a large board pierced with holes, in regular rows. 
Many breeders keep them in bran ; and this latter method is perhaps best for those meant only to 
be eaten : but for setting hens the pierced board has many obvious conveniences. They should be 
always kept with the large end downwards. This direction being exactly contrary to that usually 
