(3) The spot rot. In this the bacterial growth has not contaminated
the whole egg, but has remained near the point of entrance. Such
eggs are readily picked out with the candle, and when broken open
show lumpy adhesions on the inside of the shell. These lumps are of
various colors and appearances. It is probable that these spots are
caused as much by mold as by bacteria, but for practical purposes
the distinction is immaterial.
In practice it is impossible to separate rotten from heated eggs for
the reason that in the typical nest of spoiled eggs found around the
farm, both causes have been at work. Dead chicks will not
necessarily cause the eggs to decay, but many such eggs do become
contaminated by bacteria before they reach the candler, and hence,
as a physician would say, show complications.
The loss of eggs that are actually rotten is not as great as one
might imagine. Perhaps one or two per cent. of the country's egg
crop actually rot, but the expenses of the candling necessitated,
and the lowering of value of eggs that contain even a few rotten
specimens are severe losses.
Moldy or musty eggs are caused by accidentally wet cases or damp
cellars and ice houses. The moldy egg is most frequently a spot rot.
In the musty egg proper the meat is free from foreign organisms, but
has been tainted by the odor of mold growth upon the shell or
packing materials.
The absorption of odors is the most baffling of all causes of bad
eggs. Here the candler, so expert in other points, is usually
helpless. Eggs, by storage in old musty cellars, or in rooms, with
lemons, onions and cheese, may become so badly flavored as to be
seriously objected to by a fancy trade, and yet there is no means of
detecting the trouble without destroying the egg. Such eggs occur
most frequently among the held stock of the fall season.
The Loss Due to Carelessness.
The egg crop of the country, more than ninety-five per cent, of
which originates on the general farm, is subject to immense waste
due to ignorant and careless handling. The great mass of eggs for
sale in our large cities possess to a greater or less degree the
faults we have discussed.
Some idea of the loss due to the present shiftless method of
handling eggs, may be obtained by a comparison of the actual average
prices received for all eggs sold in New York City, and the
wholesale prices quoted by a prominent New York firm dealing in high
grade goods. The contrasted price for the year 1907 are as follows:
Prices at which total goods Wholesale prices for strictly
moved. fresh eggs.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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