The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-08-22
K,e. ing Eggs Fresh.

The best authority we have on this SUBJ
iect is DR.. Robert Jennings. In valuable
volume by him on ''Sheep, Swine and
Poultry" lie says that .'eggs, after
being laid, lose daily by Transportation,
q portion of the matter which they con-
tain. notwithstanding the compact
texture of their shell and of the close
tissue of the flexible membranes lining
the shell and enveloping the white.
When an egg is fresh it is full, without
any vacancy; and this matter of COM
mon observation, whether it be broken
or raw, or whether it is either soft or
hard boiled. In all stale eggs, on the
, contrary, there is more or less vacancy,
proportional to the loss they have sus-
tanned by Transportation; hence, in order
to Judge of the freshness of an egg it is
usual to hold it up to the light, when
the transparency of the shell makes it
appear VIII Their or not there is any va
cancy in the upper portion. as we'll as
whether the yelk and white were min
gled and muddy. by the rotting and
bursting of their enveloping MEM
branes. The Transportation of eggs.
besides, is proportional to the
temperature in which they are
placed. cold retarding and heat pro-
noting the process; hence, by keeping
fresh-lain eggs in cool cellar, or, bet
ter still. in an ice-house. they will
transpire less. and be preserved for a
longer period sound than if they are
/ kept in a warm pace, or exposed to
the suns light, which has also good
effect in promoting the exhalation OF
moisture. As, therefore, fermentation
and putridity can take place only by
communication with the air at mOder-
ate temperature, such connection must
be excluded by closing tine pores of the
shell. 1t is an indispensable condition
of the material used for this purpose,
that it shall be incapable of being dis
solved by the moisture transpired from
the interior. Spirits of wine varnish,
made with lac, answers the requirement
A better material is mixture of NUT
ton and beef suet, which should be
mel ed over a slow fire and strained
through linen cloth into an earthen
pan. The chief advantage in the use OF
this is that the eggs rubbed over with it
will boil as quickly as if nothing had
been done to them. the fat melting off as
soon as they touch the water. The trans
piration is as effectuallv stopped by the
thinnest layer od t as by thick coat
ing, provided that no sensible vestige
be lett on the surface of the shell. All
sorts of fat. grease or oil, are well
adapted TO this purpose; by means OF
butter, hogs lard. olive oil and similar
substances. eggs may be preserved for
nine months as fresh as the day upon
which they were laid. Another method
is to dip each egg into melted pork
lard, rubbing it into the shell with the
finger, and pack the eggs in old fig
drums or butter firkins, setting each
egg upright, with the small end down.
ward. Or the eggs may be packed in
like manner in an upright earthen pan;
then cut some rough sleeps tallow.
procured the same day that the animal
is killed, into small pieces and melt ii
down; strain it from the scraps and
pour it. while warm. not hot, over the
eggs in the jar till they are completely
covered. When all is cold
and firm, set the vessel in cool.
dry place till the contents are wanted.
Eggs will also keep well when
preserved in salt by arranging them in
a barrel, first layer of salt, then q lay
er of eggs, alternately. This can, how
ever, act also mechanically, like bran
or sawdust, so long as the salt con-
tinues dry; for in that case the chloride,
which is the antiseptic principle of the
silt, is not evolved. When the salt,
however, becomes damp, its preserva.
tive principles will be brought into ac-
ton and may penetrate through the
pores of the shell. Immersing eggs in
vitriol or sulphuric acid is likewise a
very eflectual mems of preserving
them; the sulphuric acid acts chemical
ly upon the carbonate OF lime in the
shell by setting free the carbonic acid
g.s, while it unites with the lime and
forms sulphate of linz. or plaster of
Paris. Another method is to mix to-
gether bushel Of quick-lime, two
pounds of salt and eight ounces OF
cream of tartar, adding sufficient
quantity of water SO that eggs may be
plunged into the paint. When a
paste is made of this consistence the
eggs are put into it. and may be kept
fresh. it is said. for two years. And still
another method of preserving eggs
long while fresh depends upon very
different principle. Eggs that have
not been rendered reproductive have
been found 10 possess special advan-
tages in the pre- ent respect. In order.
in accordance with this, to have eggs
keep fresh from spring to the middle or
even to the end of winter, it is only
necessary to deprive the hens of all
communication with the male birds for
at least month before the eggs are
put away. 1t ought not to be over
looked in this connection. that eggs
not only spoil by the Transportation OF
their moisture and the putrid fermenta-
ton of their contents, in consequence
of air penetrating through the pores
of the shell, tut also by being moved
al out and jostled when carried to a
distance by sea or land. Any kind OF
rough motion. indeed, ruptures the
membranes which keep the white, the
yelk and the germ of the chicken in
their appropriate places; and upon
these being mixed putrefaction is pro-
NOTED. "-LOuisuiile Courier-JOurnai.