Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-18
EGGS ARE SOURCE
OF VAST WEALTH
POULTRY PRODUCT COMPARED
WITH WHEAT AND CORN
Method of Marketing and Production
Outlined by Secretary Wilson.
Suggestions to Prevent
Waste

In his report last year Secretary Will
son asserted that the eggs and poultry
produced upon the farms of the United
States are worth as much as the wheat
and the cotton crops, and that the in
come from the henhouses of the land
was one of the four or five most i'm
portant sources of the wealth of the
nation. This surprising statement Is
confirmed by circular No. 140, which
has recently been issued by the depart
ment of agriculture, entitled THE Egg
Trade of the United States" by Milo
Nj. Hastings, scientific assistant an
imal husbandry office.
This bulletin contains about all the
information that could be gathered
concerning eggs, and the author dis
cusses the question of quality as well
as quantity. He tells us how to de-
termine the quality in eggs and how 1t
is impaired by carelessness, by time
and other influences. The method of
marketing and the route by which an
egg travels from the producer to the
consumer are described. A chapter Is
devoted TO cold storage and other
methods of preserving "hen fruit and
tie various requisites for the produc-
ton of good eggs and the improvement
of the crop in the henhouse and in the
poultry yard are defined and described,
with general observations upon sub
ject that is of personal interest to
every breakfast table.
"The loss of wealth in this country
due to the actual spelling of eggs,' Mr..
Hastings asserts, constitutes an enor-
nous waste which could, in large
measure, be saved were eggs given
reasonable care from the time of laying
until they reached the consumer"
Two Reasons Assigned
This is due. he says, to two main
reasonsI (D Lack of realization OF the
Importance of the egg crop, and (2
ignorance OF the correct methods of
caring for them. Under our present
system the Individual farmer and the
individual storekeeper have no in
1ucements for exercising greater care
and are not held accountable for care
lessness or even actual dishonesty.
The storekeeper who receives eggs in
exchange for merchandise reckons his
profits on the goods rather than on the
eggs, and knows that he can dispose
of the egs at the market price whether
they are good or bad. Therefore he
does not encourage the farmers to i'm
prove the quality of their eggs, and,
by the advantage of his peculiar po-
sition, keeps other buyers from doing
so. Thus, Mr.. Hastings argues, the
present method Is on false basis and
is detrimental to the progress of the
most important branches of agricul-
ture.
The remedy, he thinks. is to be
found in cooperation. The farmers
should organize to control the egg
market and to compel buyers to es-
tablish agencies where eggs can be
sold at prices regulated according to
their quality. At present the best eggs
are in demand at a premium, ranging
from l to 2 cents to double the Or
binary market price. In the large
cities soda fountains, clubs. high-class
hotels and many private families will
pay as high as rs cents a dozen for
the best quality. but the farmer who
has shipped them derives no advan-
tage, and the profit goes directly to the
retailer. Under the present system all
grades-good, bad and Indifferent
bring the same price at the country
stores, and therefore Is practically a
premium upon carelessness.
Estimate of Cost
Mr.. Hastings gives us an idea of tho
items that make up the cost of a dozen