THE WONDERFUL EGG.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 3 July 1914, Page 7

THE WONDERFUL EGG.

Within the limits of an egg shell are found every element necessarj to the support of man. The nature c i tbe food eaten by the hen creates th > flavour, the colour of the; shell, having no bearing whatever in the matter.

The relative weight of an'eggs is : sl<ell and lining material, 106.9 ; albumen, 604.2 ; yolk, 288.9 ; one half the egg is nutriment., The nutriment ot meat is rated, at beet, as only one-fourth. Consequently, ofce poi«aJ of eggs,; in nutriment vai«e, is eqi&.l to two pounds of meat.

The average weight of a dozen eggs ranges from 15 ito 24 ounces, T*n .'UTigle spe-imens have been known to v. sigh four ounces each.

T*n yenrs ago i Collingwood estimate J tfetvthe hens of the previous yo^r packed inside the shells of the eggs, .is ra'J.nd numbers, 650 tons of water—saffioent to fill a, canal one mile long, 20 feet deep, and 300 feet wide. The shells required to hold this water contained 110,000 tons of lime. The hens of the country that year put enough water into their eggs to irrigate over 2,000 acres of corn.

j According to a large number of an- • alyses made of domestic eggs at the , various agricultural stations, an egg 1 weighing two ounces has the followi ing percentage of composition : Shell, 10.5 ; water, 6.8 ; fat, 9.3 ; and of ash, 0.9. A side of beef contains on an average about the same percent- 7 age of protein, but a larger percentage of fat. Eggs belong to the nitrogenous group of foods, ' and would naturally and properly be combined in the diet with material supplying carbohydrates (sugar and starch), such as cereals, potatoes, etc. There is four per cent, iless of protein, and six per cent, less of fat in eggs than in sirloin steak ; half as much protein and one-third as much fat as in cream cheeses; twice as much protein and ten times a s much fat as .in oysters. Puel value about one-third that of rich cheese, and two-thirds that, of beef. It is the protein or nitrogenous matter that builds up and repairs the tissues of the body, while the fat supplies energy. It has often been claimed that the white of an egg is pure albumen, but that it also contains phosphoric acid ; and sodium chloride or common salt has been proved. The fatty part of the egg, also phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron, are contained in the yolk. There is also sulphur in the egg, which, no doubt, accounts for the dark stain left by eggs on silver. Medical science says, that raw eggs are more quickly digested than cooked ones. Soft-boiled, roasted and poached eggs are more quickly S r\ : \ easily digested than when fried or hard-boiled. The stomach will digest a raw egg in from one and a half to two hours. Soft-boiled and roasted require from two and a half to three hours, while hard-boiled or fried must be allowed from three and a half to four hours for digestion.—M. K. Boyer.