Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1909-03-12
EGGS BY WAGON LOADS.
Carried for Miles Like Bricks in a Wagon.
Few Are Bf0ken in Transit.

Eggs by the wagon load. hauled for
any miles over Il rocky road. in almost
sXactly the same manner as Il western
farmers transports his corn crop. is the
way the Ozark region poultry raiser gets
his eggs to market. On the streets of
West Plains, Mo, which. according to
the st. Louis Republic, has become Il
great poultry and egg market, as well
as the center of the famous land of the
big red apple and liberia peach. it is a
daily occurrence to see wagon loads of
eggs, many of them coming distance
Of more than sixty miles.
Filling a wagon with eggs so that they
will ride without breaking, is an art
that requires skill. The Ozard huckster
and freighter has this down to a nicely,
and 1t is seldom that he breaks more
than two or three dozen of the big load
in the long journey over the mountains
In loading a wagon with eggs 3-inch
layer of straw is placed in the bortun
of the wagon bed. Then the eggs are
carried out to the wagon in buckets and
small boxes. They are poured on the
straw without ceremony, and the driv-
er, with broad stroke of his hand, scat
ters them out in a single layer. When
the layer of eggs is complete another
covering of straw Is put on and more
eggs are put in the wagon until the en-
tire bed is piled high. Then boards are
put on top of the load to hold it down
Usually the huge pile is much higher
than the top of the wagon bed. and then
1t becomes necessary for several persons
to get on the board to bring them down
to level with the top of the wagon
bed and they are nailed down.
\ chain is wrapped around the middle
of the wagon bed and on top of the wag-
on il put the drivers bedding and grub
box. and sometimes Il big bale of cotton.
Eggs ride better this way than if they
were packed in cases with strawboard
filters Frequently the driver walks
of doing damage. and the jolting of the
heavy load over the hills of the OZarks
does not crack many of the eggs, One
thousand dozen is an average load, but
many freighters bring more than this
number if the condition of the roads per-
nit and the hens have been busy
In shipping eggs to market the eggs are
first "candled," Il process through which
they are put to find all the bad ones. in
order 20 comply with the national pure
food law. Then the eggs are packed in
eases and loaded in refrigerator cars.
bound for the eastern markets \ single
car contains exactly 400 cases Count
ing thirty dozen to Il case. a car holds
1000 dozen, or 144,OOO eggs, Estimates
at present prices received in the east a
car of eggs is worth $500.
The Missouri hen as Il revenue pro-
ducer is far ahead of the famous Mis-
souri, mule or even the COW. In the
Ozard region the poultry industry is GO
ing to outrival fruit growing 1T the pres
emf stride. According to the bureau of
labor statistics Missouri shipped more
than S39,OO0,0OO worth of poultry and
eggs in 1907. and this year will show Il
big Increase
From, actual experience, farmer $
wife. with 100 chickens, will net the tidy
sum of 500 in six months time from the
sale of eggs alone. One hundred pulIets
will produce on an average SiXty-siN eggs
il day. or $50 dozen in the course of Il
month At 1929 cents dozen. the
average price aid in the markets. the
gross revenue derived from the hens is
| S156.65 Estimating that it costs about
$26 to feed the flock, and counting two
hours labor each day at $40. the net
profit is 500.