Arizona republican., 1900-12-19
The Egg Businssss
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 A cackle of relief and conscious vir- tue is going up firm conscientious hens all over the country. Their busy sea- son is practically ended and they have beaten all previous records.
 The American hen isn't properly ap- preciated by her average fellow coun- tryman. He insists upon regarding her as an individual and do-sn't realize what a power of organized labor she represents. At a rough estimare there are about $50, 100000 chickens in the United States. They produce each year something like 14,00O, COCO. 900 eggs, which represents $175, 100000. Besides, $13O 900 worth of poultry is eaten in the country during a year, and the Nllue of the living hens, at 90 cents apiece, is figured at $150000.000. So the hen stands for about $45j, 100000 in the yearly economics of the United States, and it keeps her hustling to live up to her reputation. It is enough to dlunI even a Black MinOrca to reflect when the spring days come that shc and her fellows must start in and outdo the iron industry, the wheat crop and the corn crop, incidentally soaring more than $1 1000, 900 ahead of the total yearly value of the cows of the country and their produce.
 However, she sees her duty and she does it. The bulk of the work, so far as the eggs are concerned, is done in Uhe spring and early summer, though the hens keep up a fairly good pace until November. and are not actually daunted until the severe cold weather and storms arrive. The supply and the price of eggs depend entirely upon that unknown quantity, the weather. Such an episode as the egg famine of early times is never known in this day of cold storage and refrigerating facilities, but a long winter means a decided scare ity of fresh eggs and a jump in the prices of stored eggs.
 The egg business has been revolu- tionized in recent years and its de- velopment has been marvellous. A comparatively short time ago the mar ket depended upon local farmers and upon Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa for its egg supply, and the great southwest had no finger in the pie; but the improvements in railroad facilities and refrigeration have changed all that and now Kansas, Nebraska. and Mis- souri are sending out enormous quan- titles of eggs. The south, too, has talk en up the industry, although the ten- Gency in that region is to go into busi- ness in small way rather than with the breezy all-embrac cling sweep of the western farmer. Iowa is still, perhaps, the heaviest producer, but Michigan eggs are said by exports to have the finest flavor the difference being. gdoubtless the effect of the sand and lime in the soil.
 Il-ultry farmers today are showing a tendency to confine themselves to some one breed of hens, but the merit of this measure lies not in the superior flavor but in the uniform size and color of the eggs. Those questions Of size and col or cut an important figure in the egg trade, and though the dealers say scornfully that their concessions to public idiosyncrasies are all foolishness they make the concessions just the same The ordinary buyer absolutely refuses to put aside a prejudice in fl- vor of eggs uniform in size and color The grocer cannot sell mixed eggS however fresh they may De, at a fancy price, SD the wholesale dealers sort out the eggs, tack an extra price to those that are uniform, and everybody is happy. There are local prejudices in this regard as well as universal ones. Every dealer the country over knows that fancy sorted eggs. to find favor in Boston, must be of a warm brown color, and he knows equally well that New Workers will r,-,t pay a fancy price for brown eggs, but demand assorted whites.
 Iflis sorting and classifying of eggs is a complicated performance. Some times it is done before shipping. More octen it Is done in the wholesale houses or storage warehouses. First the eggs are candled and sorted according to their degree of freshness. In the old days his was done by passing the egg before caadIc fame in dark room: but carlling is now misnomer. for the eggs are held before a powerful electric light hooded in tin, so that the light escapes only through one small aperture. An expert candler neels long training, and the work is tedious