Evening star., 1900-10-06
THEIR FOOD VALUE
Some Scientists Claim That Eggs
Are Greatly Overrated.
BUT THEY ARE ALWAYS POPULAR
A Staple Article Of Diet All Over
the World.
MANY UNUSUAL VARIETIES

Eggs are Just now the subject of investi-
cation by the Department of Agriculture,
not as to their soundness, but as to their
food value. Eggs have for ages, in all
countries and among all peoples, been re-
garded as An excellent IL not an ideal food.
and cook books abound in the many tooth
some ways they may be prepared for the
table.
The records of the Department of Agrl-
culture show that the consumption Of eggs
is by no means confined to the product of
domestic fowls. DR.. T. s. Palmer, assistant
chief Of the biological survey, in his official
review of economic ornithology in the
United States, says that large colonies of
water birds, such as murres. pelicans, gulls.
terms and herons, may be found along our
coasts at certain points during the breed
ing season, and the eggs Of some of these
species are highly esteemed as food. and
find ready market. DR.. Palmer especially
refers to the laughing gull QIarus articilla)
on the eastern shore of Virginia, the eggs
OF which are considered a great delicacy,
and are gathered in large numbers for sale
to hotels and private individuals. a
But in the qualification Of this TASTE"
he adds, there Is the same tendency to-
ward determination which is manifested In
the case Of feather collecting. The exter-
Of Tampa bay, Florida, was brought about
in part by the operation Of the market
egg hunters In the early eighties"
Egg Expeditions.
Along the coast of Texas the inhabitants
regularly devote several days each year to
what they term "egging.' All eggs from
an inch in diameter upward are taken, ex-
cepting perhaps those Of the pelican, whose
eggs are too f1shy for any stomach Boats
often come a distance of 100 miles to gather
these eggs, cruising from reef to reef until
they secure good load
The eggs Of the "arrie' or ''pallas" murre
Uria lomvia arra) are collected for food on
the Pribilof Islands. in Bering sea, and on
the occasion Of the visit of an American
ornithologist in 1872 to Walrus Island he
observed six men in less than three hours
load badarrah carrying four tons with
eggs to the waters edge.
On LaySan. one of the northwestern Ha-
waiian Islands, the 'gooney," or albatross
CDiomedea fmmuta abilis), fairly swarms
Immense quantities Of its eggs are gathered
for the use of the employees of the guano
company, and some are shipped to the
Honolulu markets Photographs show that
these eggs are gathered not only by the
wheelbarrow load, but by the load.
protection. but, the Agricultural Depart
ment authorities say, how long they can
survive the recent wholesale removal Of
eggs is not difficult to surmise Congress
at its approaching session may be urged
to enact legislation for the protection of
the albatross similar to that in the seal fish,
cries act.
Wholesale Collecting.
"A still more striking example Of whole
sale egg collecting" said DR.. Palmer, "and
probably the most important one in the
United States from a financial standpoint,
is that Of the Farallones. These Islands,
or rather rocks, situated off the coast of
California fhfrfve Of he
Gate, are the breeding ground of myriads
Of sea birds, chiefly western gulls Qarus
occidentalis) and murres, or California
gu1lemots Uria troile californica). For
nearly fifty years murre eggs were collected
here and shipped to the San Francisco mar
ket where they found ready sale at from
u to 20 cents per dozen, price sHghtly
less than that Of hens eggs. The bird
lays only one egg, which is deposited on
the bare rock. When the season opens,
about the middle of May, the egg gatherers
would go over the ground and break all
the eggs in sight, 80 as to avoid taking any
that not perfectly fresh. The ground
was then gone over every second day, and
the eggs systematically picked up and
The Farallones being government light
house reservation and the attention of the
light house board having been called to the
decreasing number of birds, due to the
wholesale collection of eggs. principally by
Italians and Greeks, instructions We're is
sued putting an end to the business for the
present.
Enormous Numbers Eaten.
The Americans are an egg eating people.
but as yet the statisticians Of the Depart
ment Of Agriculture have been unable to de-
wise any scheme whereby they can take
the annual egg census. That the number
consumed annually will run into the billions
they freely concede The original man ate
his eggs raw, but since Phometheus stole
fire from heaven they have been served in
many delightful styles of the culinary art.
The great American hen, whose egg pro-
duct Is a staple commodity In our markets,
Is q direct descendant Of the jungle fowl
or wild chicken. These birds, from which
the entire domestic chicken family de-
scended, are Indigenous to the jungles of
northeastern and central India and range
thence to the Indo-Malayan region, includ-
ing Cochin China and the Philippine Islands.
There are eight wild species recognized in
the genus and their domestlcation dates
back several hundred years. The domestic
varieties known as Leghorns. Brahmas.
bantams. Plymouth rocks and others have
careful selection. Wild chickens are still
plentiful in the jungles of northeastern
India, and are held In great reverence by
the natives. who regard them with super
stitious ave. They refrain from eating the
flesh of the jungle fowl, because. according
to their religion. 1t is a great sin to kill for
food anything that has insunct, "lest 1t be
hindered on its upward way" Besides ac-
cording to their doctrine of transmigration
of souls, one might kill and eat ones grand
mother or other relative. The eggs Of tho
wild chicken are regarded with equal VEN
Grafton.
Relative Merits.
One Of the most serious problems connect
ed with the subject Of eggs. which the Agri-
cultural Department has been called upon
to solve is whether the brown-shelled or
the white-shelled egg Is the more nutritious
as a food. Elaborate experiments conduct
ed at the California experimental station
by Prof Jaffa Of the University of Cali
fornia showed that while there was q
slight difference between the two varieties,
practically there Is difference between
them so far as their nutrftive value is con-
cerned and that the slight difference which
does exist Is in favor Of the white-shelled
egg against the brown.