Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 99, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 May 1918 — EGGS PRESERVED FOR WINTER USE [ARTICLE]

EGGS PRESERVED FOR WINTER USE

Other Water-Glass or Limewater May Be Used by Any Housewife. TWO PLANS ARE DESCRIBED Use Only Firm-Bhelled, Fresh, Clean, and if Possible, Infertile Eggs— Cost Is Estimated at Two Cehts Per Dozen. While high prices for eggs last winter are still fresh in your mind it la well to make a resolve to preserve eggs this spring when they are plentiful for the season of scarcity which comes in the fall and winter. Putting up eggs in a water-glass solution or llmewater is not an experimental enterprise. Thousands of women preserve eggs by these methods in the spring and early summer and keep them for winter use. Fresh eggs properly preserved will keep for eight to twelve months in excellent condition and may be used with good results. If satisfactory results are to be obtained the eggs should be fresh and clean, firm-shelled and. If possible, infertile. Eggs laid during April, May and early June have been found to keep better than those laid later in the season. Eggs that float when placed in the solution are not fresh and therefore, cannot be preserved. When an egg is only slightly soiled a cloth dampened with vinegar can be used to remove such stains. Under no circumstances should badly soiled eggs be used for preserving. If put into the jar while dirty they will spoil, and washing removes a protective coating which prevents spoiling. Cost of Preserving. By the water-glass or sodium silicate method eggs may be preserved at a cost of about two cents a dozen if the price of sodium silicate is 30 cents a quart. It is not desirable to use the water-glass solution a second time. Here is the water-glass method as described by specialists of the United State department of agriculture: Us®, l Quart of sodium silicate to 9 quarts of water that has been boiled and c6oled. Place the mixture in a 5-gallon crock or Jar. This will be sufficient to preserve 15 dozen eggs and will serve as a guide for the quantity needed to preserve larger numbers of eggs.

Select a five-gallon crock and clean It thoroughly, after which it should be scalded and allowed to dry. Heat a quantity of water to the boiling point and allow It to cool. When cool, measure out 9 quarts of water, place it in the crock and add 1 quart of ,sodium silicate, stirring the mixture thoroughly. The eggs should be placed In the solution. If sufficient eggs are not obtainable when the solution is first made, additional eggs may be added from time to time. Be very careful to allow at least two inches of the solution to rover the eggs at all times. Place the crock containing the preserved eggs in a cool, dry place, well covered t n prevent evaporation. Waxed paper covered over and tied around the top of. the crock will answer thia purpose. Llmewater May Be Used. .71 When water-glass cannot be obtained, IKsewater may be used in its stead. Dissolve 2or 3 pounds of unslaked lime in 5 gallon* of water that has previously been boiled and allowed to cool, and allow the mixture to stand until the lime settles and the liquid is dear. Place dean, fresh eggs In a deaa earthenware jug

or keg, and pour the clear llmewater into the vessel until the eggs are covered. At least 2 inches of the solution should cover the top layer of eggs. Sometimes a pound of salt la used with the lime, but experience has shown that in general the lime without the salt is more satisfactory. Fresh, dean eggs, properly preserved, can' be used satisfactorily for all purposes in cooking and for the table. When eggs are presehred In water-glass are to be boiled, a small hole should be made in the shell with a pin at the large end before placing 'them in the water.

Clean and Store Incubators. After the hatching season is over, clean and disinfect the Incubator. Empty the lamps and carefully store the parts Inside the machine. Lamps containing oil which are allowed to remain in place on° the incubator tor some time after the hatching season may cause trouble when the machine is started again as the oil tends to work up into the hood. The Incubator should be disinfected once a year or oftener ft any disease Is prdfen| in tie hens or chickens. Sqme operators prefer to disinfect- their incubators before or after each hatch. A strong solution of a reliable coal-tar disinfectant may be used to wash out the machine and to disinfect the egg trays and nursery drawer. If the burlap on the bottom of the Incubator is very dirty It may be cheaper to renew than to clean It. With an incubator of about 3 cubic feet capacity one may disinfect by pouring one-half ounce of formalin, which contains 40 per cent formaldehyde, on one-half ounce of permanganate of potash in a pan in the incubator. This produces a very penetrating gas and thoroughly disinfect* the machine. The door of the Incubator should be closed just as soon as the liquid Is poured into the pa* and left closed for 12 hours or longer. Incubators should be well aired before they are used after disinfecting; especially when formaldehyde or any disinfectant which produces a gas ha* been used.

Protect Chicks From Lice. Dust the hen with a good insect powder before moving her and th* jchickens to the brood coop. The hen should be dusted every two weeks or as often as necessary until th* chick* ens are weaned. If lice become numerous on chickens or If they are troubled with “bead lice” a very littl* grease such as lard or vaseline may be anplied with the fingers on th* neck, under the wings, and . around the vent. Great car* should be taken, however, not to get too much grease on the chickens a* it will stop their growth and In soma cases may prove fatal. Sodium fluorid, a whit* powder, is an excellent remedy for all lice of chickens, entomologists of th* United States department of agriculture have discovered. In Farmers’ Bulletlq 801, “Mites and Lice on Poultry,” the specialists described the os* of this new remedy for old and young