The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-10-22

DWeIIers In the Metropolis Will
Not Give Up the Price Necessary to
Secure Newly Laid Eggs.
"New York doesn't want fresh eggs"
said a poultryman who knows to group
of city friends. They professed to doubt
what he said, which moved him to re-
mark:
"If you don't believe that is true, you
try and furnish fresh eggs to the New
Workers who are just yearning for them,
as l have done, and see if the yearners
are willing to pay you a price that will
enable you to buy your daily bread, to
say nothing of the butter. You all like
fresh eggs, of course, and perhaps you
will pay a half way decent price fol-
them for a short time during the win
ter, but what about the rest of the year!
Have you ever stopped to think that
the man who is able to supply you with
fresh eggs during the winter has had to
spend a great deal of time in studying UP
that particular subject? Are you aware
that he has been obliged to breed lot
of hens during the spring and early sum-
mer and that he has had to feed and care
for them for six months without getting
one cent in return? Have you stopped
to think that he must carry stock
throughout the year in order to have the
fowls laying when you want eggs, and
he must house his fowls in warm and
extensively built coops? And, above all
else, understand when / say a fresh egg
l mean an gg that is no more than
day old wheli it is served to you.
"How many times have you eaten an
egg here that was not more than day
A., IL y, fI,ao
try who make a speciality of sending
into New York what they consider fresh
eggs, which are anywhere from three
days to three weeks old.
Il think you ought to understand that
the eggs sold in New York as strictly
fresh are any old age. The farmers
wife saves them until she has goodly
number to sell at the local grocery or tc
make a fair showing when the egg col
lector comes around, for there are men
who make a business of gathering eggs.
They have routes laid out through Ger
tain territory, and they traverse them
once every two weeks. Thus, as you can
see, the eggs are at least two weeks old
on the average before they get into the
hands of the collector.
1.-The collector keeps them in a cellar
him in making a shipment to the city,
which may be anywhere from one to
three weeks, depending on the time OF
year. Then when the commission man
receives them here he keeps them a few
days until they are sold, so that your
fresh eggs come dangerously near to be-
ing a month old. That's why can I'M
derstand that the egg dealer-and he
h., TO no Of fho an N
his line in the town-said he considered
every egg fresh that didn't hatch while
in transit to the city.
Now, let me tell you why | believe
New York doesn't want fresh eggs at
fresh egg price, if it wants them at all.
shipped eggs into the city that were not
more than three hours old when they
were placed in the hands Of the consumer
here | suppose you never before heard
Of eggs so fresh as those getting into New
York? It's a fact nevertheless. When
the eggs left my place, many of them
had only few minutes before been TAX
en- from the nests and were still warm.
The trip on the cars occupied a little
more than an hour, and within another
hour or so the express company had de-
livered them at their destination.
not strictly fresh nor guaranteed fresh,'
but plain fresh eggs.
81 found any number of people who
needed those fresh eggs to round out
their lives They were the one thing
missing-until they received the bill for
them. and then there was time.
"AIind you, they were charged no more
than 80 cents a dozen in the coolest of
Go fho
in New York. and how they did go
on! Many of them who had been most
enthusiastic over the eggs before the bills
were sent out refused to pay the bills on
the ground that the eggs were just the
worst, stale old eggs that ever had been,
whereas none of the eggs was more than
"a hours old, and many of them, as /
have said were not more than three
hours old.
'fWhen | cornered them on the fresh
ness of the eggs, these yearners made all
sorts of silly complaints. The trouble
with them was that they wanted the
eggs but didn't want to pay for them.
So they went back to fresh eggs from
the cold storage pants-back to eggs
that were six months old-and were hap
by, l hope.
81 had one customer who bought the
eggs by advice of physician. This man
had two children who were convalescent
after an attack of scarlet fever. The
man was in fairly comfortable circum-
stances, and the physician told him the
eggs were doing his children more good
than anything else he could get We
were selling him the eggs at 40 cents
dozen, and when the price was raised to
40 cents dozen this man was up in
arms and refused to take any more.
suppose the children came around all
right. though l never heard anything
more about them.
complaints were also made that the
eggs were too fresh. Would you believe
it? l can show you letters received on
that particular subject. The majority
of them ran like this:
'Dear Sir-Will you please send US eggs in the
future that are not so fresh2 We do not like that
milky curdle in them. Please keep them few
days before shipping and obige yours etc.
81 remember one note in particular that
ran this way:
'Dear Sir-Your eggs are too fresh Send moth
ing under a week old. If we cannot get what
want, will have to look elsewhere.
"Now, wasn't that encouraging for a
man trying to satisfy the yearnings of
New Workers for fresh eggs? could
give you many instances showing that
New York was willing to buy all the
fresh eggs you could send to town if
you were willing to sell them at - cents
dozen. l have sold them as cheaply as
25 cents a dozen and had hard work to
do that, so you cannot blame me for
saying New York does not want fresh
eggs if it has to pay few cents more
than is charged for stale eggs. New
York Mail and Express.