There is an old tradition, the truth of which we do not endorse, that eggs may arrive at a period when, though they are not fit to be boiled, fried, poached, or hard-boiled, they are still good enough for puddings and pastry.

There is no doubt that many good puddings are spoilt because cooks imagine they can use up doubtful eggs.
When eggs are more than doubtful, they are often bought up by the smaller pastry-cooks in cheap and poor neighbourhoods of our large towns, such as the East-End of London.

These eggs are called "spot eggs," and are sold at thirty and forty a shilling.

They utilise them as follows: They hold the egg up in front of a bright gas-light, when the small black spot can be clearly seen.

This black spot is kept at the lowest point of the egg, _i.e._, the egg is held so that this black spot is at the bottom.