Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-03-07
PRICE Of EGGS
Low, Complain
CHICKEN FOLKS

A lot of people vino have chickens
are complaining, at the present time
about low prices. Two months. ago
when their hens were On strike, eggs
we're retailing in Honolulu for as
much as - cents, per dozen. Now
grocers and other dealers are offer
ing them for as low as 40 cents. The
lower than this Almost every old
hen in Hawaii is laying eggs now,
which explains the reduced prices, and
there are also a lot of eggs coming
in from California, which tend to hold
down prices. These last are not stor-
age eggs, but are brought down on
the decks of steamers. and were fresh
when they left the mainland. OF
course they are inferior TO new laid
island eggs-that is to some island
eggs. -.
On the outside islands eggs are a
crug just now at 25 cents dozen,
and the same Is true of some eggs
produced her on Oahu. But the fault
is more with the owners of the hens
than with the market Comparatively
few understand their business, or
know what constitutes a really good
egg OF course hens that are conn
PEELED to subsist on refuse, cannot
produce a high grade product. The
flavor of such eggs is always inferior
and these are the eggs that the con-
sumer soon tires of as steady diet.
But perhaps the greatest fault is to-
be found in the method of caring for
the eggs before they are marketed.
Unless the poultry keeper has his
hens separated from the cocks, he
cannot keep an egg over three days
In this climate and still have it fresh.
and week should put it past all pos
sibflity as human food. The reason
is that the living germ in the egg will
begin to develop during the heat of
the day almost as soon as the egg is
laid. At night the germ is chilled and
dies, and putrifaction Immediately
sets In, and the egg is stale" Eggs
produced from hens kept apart from
cocks are non-fertile and will keep,
under like conditions. very: much
longer. In fact. the unfertile eggs
which are tested out of the incubat-
crs after being held for six or seven
days at a temperature of 102 or 103i
degrees, are sometimes sold as fresh
eggs by interruptions poultrymen, and
except that the contents are shrunken
to some extent by evaporation, can
scarcely be distinguished from fresh
laid egg. In reality there is nothing
really wrong with such eggs, end
they could readily be used for cook
ing purposes On the other hand, a
fertile egg under such circumstances,
contains the embryo of a chick in we'll
advanced stage, so that it may be cas-
lily seen through the shell, and it has
some power of movement.
For highest quality, eggs should be
collected from the nests at least once
a day, and twice, is better. They
should be kept in as cool place as
possible, and should not be held over
three or four days before marketing 4
Even then they should be in contain
ers which will permit Of their being
turned over once each day, to prevent
the yolk from settling to one side and
perhaps sticking to the shell.
The fresher the egg the more diff
cult it is to remove the shell when
lard boiled-and vice versa. When
the shell slips off practically whole,
it is safe to say that the egg is some
days old even though it may be per-
fectly good Also the fresher the egg
the easier it is to poach. 1t isn't AMI
easy thing to poach cold storage
egg-in fact it is almost impossible
to do so without breaking the yolk
C..