The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1872-08-03
USEFUL INFORMATION.
A Hens Egg--HHOW it SpOiEs.
From the Mobile Register.

G
From the Mobile Register.l
All persons i'm this country are familiar
with eggs-and yet few know anything
about them, SO to speak. They knoW that
an egg is an egg; that it has a shell on
the outside, a White" next and a "yel-
lown in the centre; but what all these
things are composed of i~saquestfOn that
has never given them any trouble, up
to this writing. They also know that an
egg is considered a very good article OF
food when fresh; but that it will not,
under ordinary circumstances, remain
fresh q great while IL kept On hand but
why all these things are so has not been
made a matter of concern to them, and
they are not, by any means, unhappy IN
consequence.
A thorough knowledge of the chemis-
try of an egg is Of no very great import
ance to mankind in general, and yet it
would be found useful in several ways,
prominent among which is the field it
would open for thought. We go through
many dry and hard studies in the course
of our education, which weneyer expect
to put to any practical use-do it to ex-
pand the mind, as our teachers tell us
would it not be better to expand the
mind by the study OF even the common
place things thatlie Immediately around
us9 A plant, IN insect, a stone, apint
of matchmaking in nature so simple
that ii does not contain material for at
least a volume of thought. The subject
of this sketch is, doubtless, looked upon
by many as q very simple subject-that
was what prompted us to select 1t. We
want to show you how much there is to
think about, ven in so "unimportant"
O thing as an egg. Letusillustrate with
q comparison. A young man comes
home from college where he has gone
through the usual courses with honor to
himself and credit to the institution. He
is considered a bright scholar, with a
mind expanded to great capacity. The
first thing brought to his special atten-
ton is an egg. Natural science has not
cut much figure in his education-it was
not considered of the first Importance,
SO it was passed with a mere "smatter-
ing,n consequently he sees in the little
object before him only an egg-a shell,
a white, q yellow, q chicken possibly, a
nog, d fry, q boil, o poach, an omelette,
and a CustaPd. All this is seen with a
kind of dreamy glance and a supreme
indifference, as his mind floats off to the
knotty problems solved in mathematics
for the sake of expanding it, takes up
position among things unreal or imprac-
I1G6bD1Cs I1Id tEHNCD IIIC CSS w LA1C AoOhi
But the naturalist ONE along, takes
lid the egg, g enough in it to engage
his thoughts pleasantly and deeply for
an hour, and now let us take a glance at
what he sees:
First comes the shell, q white, fragile
covering composed of mineral matter
Tt is not the tight vessel which it ap-
pears to be, but a mere frame-wOrk
thrown around the egg for protection
something like the "Wickers7 on q bot.
tie. 1t is completely riddled with holes
but they are SO small as not to be clearly
seen with the naked eye. eight as al
egg-shell7 is a omlAon expression, but
the person who got it up wasnota natu,
ra..ist-as well say tight as a sieve Of
tight rs the top of apepper box" Why
the shell was not made tight affords hin
matter for long mental debate.
In the minerals composing the shell
carbonate of lime largely predominates
must be taken by the fowl in it's food
and SO he decides that in q sandy coun
try like our around Mobile, fowls ough1
20 nave ground bone in their TODD, o
something else that would supply then
with this necessary Ingredient. As car
Donate lime is the material of which
marbleR composed, he concludes tina
spalIs from our marble yards, pounded
mp finely and put into their feed, wouIG
be IN excellent thing for fowls.
Next after the shell comes thin, white
bag enclosing all the liquid contents o:
the egg. It is perfectly impervious ant
SO prevents the liquids from running on
through the holes Ill the shell. Whe1
we break q raw it breaks and @d
heres to the shell md we seldom notice
it, but we may easily peel the shell from
a hard-boiled egg and leave it enclosing
the meat
Within this sack is found first til,
white and then the yellow" and they
are, indeed, Gerry interesting studies, bu
we cannot take time to tell you all th,
naturalist thought about them. Thrown
together their chemical components AT,
as follows: