We continue with Maseches Shabbos. This mishnah goes on to discuss the various measurements that create liability for carrying out on Shabbos.
"Adamah":
This refers to a type of earth, something like clay, that was used for making seals. The measurement that creates liability is enough to make a seal - an amount of earth sufficient for the seal of the martzufin, which were very large containers used for shipping, and it was the practice to seal them with seals made of earth. This is the opinion of Rabbi Akiva. And the Chachamim say: not the large seal of the big packing sacks, but rather the size of the seal used for letters, which was smaller.
"Zevel v'chol hadak":
Zevel is fertilizer made from animal dung, and fine sand is included with it. Their measurement: enough to fertilize a cabbage stalk - this is the opinion of Rabbi Akiva. And the Chachamim give a smaller measurement: enough to fertilize a leek, a single leek seedling.
"Chol hagas":
In contrast to the fine sand just mentioned, here the mishnah is speaking of coarser sand. Its measurement: enough to place on a full large trowel of lime, meaning a trowel full of plaster, of which sand was one of the ingredients. Such an amount of sand, enough to add to a trowel of plaster, is what creates liability on Shabbos for carrying out.
"Kaneh":
A usable reed: its measurement is enough to make a quill from it - instead of a feather, a reed could be used for writing.
A reed that is not usable: if it was too thick and a quill could not be made from it because of its thickness, or if it was crushed and trampled and no longer had a shape suitable for a quill - its measurement is determined by its use as fuel: enough to cook with it the lightest of eggs, an egg that cooks quickly. The mishnah is referring to a hen's egg, beaten and placed in a pot that has already been heated. And this does not mean the time it takes to cook the entire egg, but only enough to cook the volume of a dried fig of it.
The general measurement for carrying out on Shabbos is the volume of a dried fig. Therefore in this case as well, which is indirectly a matter of carrying out - since the measurement is set according to the amount one can cook with it - the matter is measured by the dried fig's worth of that egg.