Evening star., 1937-02-17

she serves her family a main dish OF
eggs in some form or other, she is both
holding tight to the purse strings and
providing the household with one of
the best and most nourishing of foods
The Bureau of Home Economics of
the United States Department of Ag-
riculture says on the subject of pur-
chasing and preparing eggs:
The homemaker may find that her
dealer carries Government graded eggs
and if so, Just now there are plenty Of
u. S. extras or grade A. eggs on sale.
u. S. standards or grade b eggs are
also of good eating quality, though
slightly less perfect in quality and ap-
pearance. Here are the official speci-
fications for u. S. extras:
The shell must be clean, sound,
normal. The air cell must not exceed
two-e -eighths inch in depth and must be
regular :. or slightly tremulous. The
yolk must be fairly well centered and
its outline may be moderately defined.
1t may be slightly mobile, but must be
free from visible germ development
and practically free from other defects
or blemishes. The white must be firm
and clear.
I'm ~ S. STANDARD grade the
shell, while clean and sound, may
be slightly abnormal in shape. The
air cell may be an eighth of an inch
larger and may move as much as half
an inch. The yclk may move freely
and show slightly visible germ devel-
opment The white must be reason
ably firm and clear.
Many prefer grade A eggs for boil
ing and poaching because the whites
stand up well, but grade B eggs are
entirely satisfactory for table use. The
grades depend on interior quality and
appearance, not on the size of the
eggs. Large, medium and small eggs
may be found in any grade.
In respect to size, If eggs are desig-
mated on the container as large a
dozen must weigh at least "a ounces.
A dozen medium eggs must weigh not
less than 20l2 ounces, and a dozen
small eggs at least II ounces. In buy
ing one or another size. the housewife
should ask herself whether the price
for small eggs is enough lower to mean
actual savings, since a dozen large
ones might give her ounces or Al
per cent more food value than the
smallest eggs permitted in the small
eggs.
Market specialists say that II we
should have severe weather in Febru-
airy or March, it might temporarily
check the present rate Of production
or interfere with country collection
and transportation. Then there would
probably be temporary rise in price.
"One unusual reason for the large
number of fresh eggs on the market
this Winter is the high cost of feed,
result of the drought last Summer.
Many poultry farmers Cancelled ad-
vance orders for baby chicks. Thus
a great number of eggs which other
wise would have been used by hatch
cries came to market to add to the
large early supply.
EGG prices are not likely to go
- much, If any, lower. For soon
surplus eggs will be put into cold
storage or sent to breaking es-
adjustments to be frozen for use by
bakeries and other large consumers
of eggs.
More than half the years egg crop
Is produced in four months-March,
April, May and June. Unfortunately,
people do not change their egg-eating
habits very much to take care of all
this egg abundance in the Spring.
Storage Is necessary to level up the
supplies for the months when the hens