EGGS—ACTLY.

Thames Star, Volume LVII, 11 September 1923, Page 3

EGGS—ACTLY.

THE OLD LADY AND THE LIZARDS A Merchandise Bill, introduced by a private member, passed its second reading in the House of Commons by 183 to 100 votes. Under its provisions foreign eggs are to be indelibly stamped with the name of the country they came from, and in the case of fruit, vegetables and meat the boxes or wrappers in which they are contained are to be stamped. Mr Pretyman in moving the second, reading said: “I believe it is not at all an uncommon practice with some vendors of eggs ostentatiously to buy British eggs and then to buy a case of cheap foreign eggs to mix with them, and all are sold at the price of British eggs.” Extraordinary results sometimes followed this practice, he remarked, introducing a story which he had on the authority of one of the members for Nottingham. “There was an old lady in his constituency who had a broody hen and wished to raise a brood of chickens. Being rather short of she bought half a dozen Britten new-laid eggs and added them to the clutch. When the eggs were hatched four lizards were produced. These were from lizard’s eggs from China which had been sold as British new-laid.”