El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-09-03

ture on record is the school
oi instruction for egg dealers, several
OF which have been put into operation
i'll a number of towns in Kansas dur
ing the last three months. under the
Joint auspices of the Kansas College of
Agriculture and the department of
agriculture. Such school is designed
I to educate dealers in the selecting and
grading OF eggs and also to teach farm
ers how to handle their egg product
so as ito secure the best possible
According to recent statistics fror,
I the department of agriculture the pro-
duct of the American hen has now
reached an annual value of nearly
SI0O,O00,000, which is about equal to
that of the wheat crop. The supply is
hot yet equal to the demand, while
about $4,000, 600 is lost upon eggs each
year because they are not properly
handled either on the farm or in ship
ment- It is to prevent the greater part
OF this loss that these schools are es-
tablished, and while the movement for
the improvement of the. farm egg in
this particular direction is being initi-
ated in Kansas, its Influence is extend
ing rapidly to other states.
Dealers Now Pay For Quality.
Last year the department of agri-
culture sent a committee of experts
into Kansas to make Investigations as
70 the methods Of handling eggs. This
school is one result of their efforts
Another is the introduction of the loss
off" system of buying eggs which has
now been adopted. first by the Kansas
Carlot Egg shippers association and
later by the organized egg dealers of
Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Oklaho-
ma. The loss Off system is one by
which the eggs are paid for according
TO their quality, while with the case
count" system formerly employed the
farmers were paid for the eggs by ac-
tual count with no regard to their
quality. They had therefore no incen-
tive to gather them regularly, to keep
them in "a cool dry place for a time
not exceeding a week before transfer
ring them, properly protected, to the
store or egg dealer, or to give special
attention to the hens producing them
1t is believed that the dzeynote to
the success of the movement for egg
Improvement lies in the organization of
the dealers with the cooperation of the
state authorities to buy upon quality
only. This requires a definite knowl-
edge of how eggs are to be sorted and
these schools are established TO teach
the proper criteriOnS, including the
Gambling process by which. if properly
conducted, all egg defects may be
promptly recognized
Difficult to Grade Eggs.
There are few food products as diff
fIcult to grade as eggs because each
one must be considered separately and
actual substance without breaking the
she'll. Eggs may be graded in the ear
" spring with reasonable accuracy by
their size, color. cleanliness and free
dom from cracks Later in the season
an egg candle must be used In
technical sense. any kind of a light
may be used for TINS purpose, but 10
candle power electric light enclosed in
a box having an opening about the size
of half dollar is considered the most
desirable The room is darkened and
the Gambler holds the egg to the light,
large end up, and gives il a quick tvirl
in order to view all sides and cause
the contents to whirl within the she'll
To the expert. this process reveals
the actual condition of the egg to an
extent that a novice would hardly real
ize and the egg Gambling classes are
schools now in session. 1t cannot be
taught by a wOrded description 1t
must be learned from an expert I'M
less one is Willing to break many eggs
10 study the essential points
Six Glasses of Eggs.
There are six classes of deteriOrated
eggs recognized by the trade Heated
eggs are the most numerous and have
several graduationS, the most frequent
of which is the fertile egg or the one
in which the embryo has developed.
Whenever a fertile egg has been sub
jected to certain conditions of heat and
moisture. whether under setting hen
in a nest. in a tin bucket behind the
kitchen range or in a case setting In
the hot sun upon a railroad station
platform ready for shipment, the re
suit is the same. The degree Of the
development of the embryo will de-
termine the class recognized by the
eggmen into which II should be placed
Light floats" are eggs in which the
development is only slight equal TO
that of is or q hours of incubation
This may go unnoticed by the average
housewife Heavy floats, blood rings"
and other terms are used to designate
further advanced stages until the full
" developed chick is formed for the
disgust Of the restaurant patron who
finds this in the boiled egg he has
ordered
The contents of an egg completely
fill the shell when it is fresh, but as
it cools it shrinks slightly, causing an
air cell or bubble to appear at the
water evapOrates and this air cell in
creases in size. EGGS with enlarged /
afrcells are known as Shrunken eggs |
and are most frequent in the fall and
early winter. when both farmer and |
dealer may be guilty of holding them |
over to secure higher price
Light Reveals BIuck Spots.
The worst form of deteriorated eggs /
are known as riots" and there are sew /
eraI classes of these, the most fire. !
quent having black spots caused by /
black before the candle and have a /
most unpleasant Odor. Dirty eggs,
small eggs and cracked eggs all come /
under condemnation in the loss off |
system of egg buying and the GAMBLER /
selects carefully and places each egg
in its proper grade This encourages
the farmers to use their soiled and I'M
dersiZed eggs at home While they are
still fresh and good instead of send
ing them to the dealer as in the case
count" system
The egg school is as helpful to the
farmer as to the egg dealer as il gives
him instruction as to the gathering and
handling of his eggs and also the
breeds Of fowls which produce the
largest eggs. The egg dealers are
towards a Standardization of |
size in eggs which will make all eggs
graded as first class average two
ounces in weight. In Denmark eggs
are sold by weight instead of by the |
dozen and there is some talk of trying |
to establish such a system here. It is !
opposed chiefly for the reason that
most household recipes give the pro-
portion of eggs in numbers instead of !
weight but as the discrepancy in size
is so great IL is generally admitted l
that weight measurement would give
the greatest accuracy.
Broken Eggs Graded Separately.
Many eggs are cracked or broken |
before they reach the packing houses
for assortment. These are graded sep
,rately Those slightly cracked so that
the contents do not leak out are called
and may be sold to some
hotel or bakery for immediate con-
sumption Those in which the con-
tents have partially leaked away are
called '1eakers-" There are several
ways in which these may be utilized
# they are fresh. They may be opened
INTO a can and frozen or they may be
Tried and pulverized for sale as ''dessi-
oh IN h. in 7