Egg

(Zool. and Chem.) Those animals in which reproduction takes place by means of eggs are called oviparous. The marsupial quadrupeds and the mono-tremata form the connecting link between the warm-blooded animals which are oviparous and the truly viviparous animals, which only belong to the mammal i a. The number of eggs produced varies greatly in different animals; some IMG:content-0742.png:[blocks in formation] birds only produce one egg in a year, while others produce as many as twenty. The roe of some fishes contains myriads of eggs. The eggs deposited by some animals are enveloped in a gelatinous substance; others are connected in various ways, sometimes being in the form of a string. The eggs of a large number of birds are used as articles of food, those most generally used belonging to the cla of birds called poultry. The common domestic fowl, the turkey, and the pea-hen, are birds whose eggs are most generally used all over the world. The eggs of gulls and guillemots afford an important article of food to the inhabitants of Iceland and other far northern regions. It is in quest of eggs, as well as of young birds, that the dangers of the most tremendous precipices are braved by men whom their com panions let down by ropes, and who gather the eggs from the rock ledges. The coasts of Labrador are also visited by eggers , who collect the eggs of sea-birds, and carry them for sale to some of the American ports. Although the eggs of birds are principally eaten, the eggs of the turtle are also considered a luxury; and the eggs of fresh-water tortoises are valuable for the oil which they yield. An ordinary hen's egg has an average weight of 875 grains, of which the shell and its inner membranous coating weigh 93-7 grains; the albumen, or white, 529-8 grains; and the yolk 251-8 grains. The shell contains about two per cent. of animal matter, and one per cent. of the phosphates of lime and magnesia, the rest consisting of carbonate of lime, with a trace of carbonate of magnesia. Zee ALBUMEN. Egg, v. a. [A. S. eggian.] To incite; to instigate; to provoke to action. (R.) Eg'ga, a town of Guinea, on the banks of the Niger, abt. 75 m. from its junction with the Tchadda; Lat. 10° 42′ N., Lon. 6° 40 E. It is said to be so populous, that many of its inhabitants live on the river in canoes. Egg and Tongue, n. ( Arch .) Ornaments used in the ECHINUS, q. v. Egg-apple, n . ( Bot . ) See SOLANUM. Egg-bird, n. ( Zool .) See STERNA. Egg-cup, n. A cup used to hold an egg to be eaten at table. Eggebe', a town of W. Africa, 80 m. from Kano; Lat. 10° 52′ N., Lon. 9° 6 E.; poр. 15,000.