Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-08-22
HEN FRUIT.
The Extent of the Egg Business of
Nashville.

The egg business has assumed in Nash
vile during the past season, that Is, since
the LIST of February, the vast proportions OF
$4,000 barrels. There are about seventy
dozen eggs packed in each barrel, which
makes the actual number of eggs shipped
from that city to the East during the period
mentioned 25, 100000. These facts were OBJ
tanned by the reporter upon visiting large
number of produce merchants who deal IN
eggs. The average price received for these
eggs was 20 cents per dozen, thus making
the 1000, 600 dozen worth about 100000.
But this by no means represents the whole
of the egg business done by Nashville mer
chants. for during this month and Septem
Der they ship eggs South, rs the price is
now only from 8 to cents per dozen,
which is as low as they have been for five
years. About five years ago eggs were sold
in August in Nashville AT from > to cents
per dozen. The business commences to get
quite brisk in October when the prices
range from 10 to % cents per dozen, and
keep getting higher until the hens stop
laying, which is generally between the
18th and Goth of December. when they are
worth from 35 TO 40 cents dozen packed
and free on board of cars III this city 1t is
at this period that the egg picklers dispose
of their stock, which amounts to many
hundred barrels. The reporter saw about
1900 dozen picked in one cellar in
/ South Cherry street produce merchants
warehouse Yesterday. The way this pickle
! is manufactured is one of the secrets of the
trade possessed only by few merchants,
whose experiments have cost them a good
deal. For cooking purposes these eggs are
as highly esteemed as newlaid eggs, and
are only debarred from appearing on the
table soft-boiled or fried. The merchant
l.
in Nashville broke one that had been in
the brine four weeks yesterday, and it did
not differ materially in appearance from
new-laid egg. In shipping these eggs they
were taken from the brine, wiped off and
packed in barrels and cases. They cost
| from g. to cents n dozen, including the
cost of the brine in which they are covered,
| and generally bring from 33l To 10 cents
when they are sold about Christmas and
shipped East by the carload, $50 barrels to
the car. As an egg market Nashville is
second to none i'll the United States,
when the volume of the trade is
considered, in proportion to the eX-
tent of its other business interests In
addition To this, Nashville eggs are graded
higher in the East than those from any
other section of the United States. This is
said to be owing to the fact that they all
come from the limestone country, which
makes the contents of the egg richer and
of better flavor, while the shell is much
stronger and consequently there is much
less loss sustained from broken eggs.
The largest shipper of eggs in this city is a
colored man named Louis Winters, who,
during last February and March, shipped
from one to three carloads of eggs a day,
his average shipments being between 700
and 1000 barrels Of eggs a week, about $50
barrels being loaded to 4 car. These eggs
went TO Cincinnati, Chicago, PittSburg and
New York. This merchant says the av-
erage price of barrel of eggs in the fall is
ST. 80, and he is now shipping eggs to
New Orleans and other Southern cities.
These eggs are brought into Nashville in
farm wagons, in lots of from one to hun
bred dozen. Very few farmers keep over
100 hens, and there is no farm where the
egg crop is made speciality, as there is in
the Northwest, where 100000 hens are
sometimes found on one ranch and 10000
hens on great many, which are devoted
exclusively to that purpose and keeping up
good stock of chickens. - Nashville
American.