Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-03-31

When an egg is laid 1t Is onparativcly
free from any bacteria or life which
might cause decomposition. Eut. like
milk. the css is an excellent medium
for bacterial growth and development
1t spells quickly under certain cir
cumstances and these latter are damp
ness and dirt.
The she'll OF the egg is exceedingly
porous: il is necessary for il 20 be so.
or the germ contained within the egg
could not develop because of the lack
OF oxygen. Germ in this instance is
intended 10 mean the embryo, COM
monty known as the life germ. TO
protect the shell against the entrance
Of bacteria. the fresh egg is coated
with Il mucilaginous matter, which IS
intended TO seal the pores until the
commencement OF Matching. This coat;
/ ing, which gives the fresh egg its
"bloom," remains effective SO long as
tho egg is kept clean and dry and,
| providing. of course, that ii is not held
too long or rubbed. Moisture. age and
undue handling viii destroy this
mucilaGinous coat!nS. whereupon
/ micro organisms are permitted 10 en-
ter the shell and the ess starts on its
downward career.
Because OF the delicate nature OF
/
eggs intended for storage should not
be washed. held in damp. musty places
or handled more than necessary, and
that they should be marketed or pre-
served as soon as possible after they
are laid. When failures occur. they
arc almost always due to a disregard
of the foregoing conditions.
| For example, the majority OF cold
storage eggs are of inferior quality.
] I'M. to tn, nf
storage grades is not due to the re-
| friEcration process, as is popularity
supposed. but to the poor quality OF
the eggs which go into storage. To
| hold poor quality eggs for three 10
| eight months, even under the Nest ia
vorablc storage conditions, could not
improve their quality; whereas good.
| fresh eggs can be held and the quality
! retained.
| Generally speaking, bacterial dc.
| velopmcnt or decomposition in cEgs Is
! prevented in two ways: First by keep
/ Ing tho eggs sterile, by preventing the
i entrance Of bacteria: second, by rctard-
| Ing the growth of bacteria within the
/ egg, by shutting off the supply OF
I oxygen from the outside. This latter
/ method is accomplished in a number
| ut ways. chiefly by coating the shell
or immcrsinE the egg in a liquid. or
10y lowering the temperature below
tn" point at which this growth will
develop. This latter. of course. means
cold storage.
Some OF the old-fashioncd methods
( OF preserving eggs consisted of pack =
ing them in oats bran or dry salt, CT
/ covering the eggs with limewatcr. The
results were always uncertain, and fire.
/ uucntly caused disappointment. because
while the eggs might not be bad. in
The sense that they were dccaycd, still
they were OF unpalatable flavor. which
amounted to tho same thing. The idea
OF the oats and bran was 10 exclude
the air. which they did not always do,
aud furthermore. while we consider
these materials dry matter. "A mat
toy "t fact, they contain quite a large
proportion of moisture. and this mo!s-
;Gre affects the eggs
Numerous experiments have been
conducted by agricultural colleges.
chemists and others which have CON