Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1909-04-16
THE EGG TRAD d OF THE Uni
TED STATES s

4
TED STATES
Washington, D CT, April 1909.
The Bureau of iInal Industry
LOT the Department Of Agricult nre
has just issued a circular by M ilo1
Hastings presenting the results of
a study made during the past year
LOT the condi tion surrounding the
lpro duction and marketing Of eggs,
with a view to determining the
causes Of deteri Grafton in quality
and consequent loss IL appears
that there isl an enormous loss due
to the spelling Of eggs, which
could be largely prevented by I'M
proved methods. and in this arti-
|cle the causes of such loss are
pointed out and suggestions made
for remedying them. According
to Mr.. Hastings. the bulk Of the.
poultry wealth Of the United States
lis to be found on the general farms.
of the Mississippi Valley. Some
idea Of the growth Of the poultry
industry on these general farms is
shown in the; case Of the state Of.
Kansas, where exclusive poultry
farms are practically unknown, vet
the value of poultry and eggs sold
has increased overa million dol
lars each year for the past five
years.
B The total loss to the egg trade
caused by needless deterioration
runs into large figures. The causes
of the losses and their estimated
proportion to the total crop value
are summed up as follows: dirty.
eggs, 2 per cent; breakage, Q per
cent; chick development or heated.
eggs, 5 per cent; shrunken or held.
eggs, 5 per cent. rotten eggs, 2.5.
|per cent; moldy or bad flavor, US,
per cent; tota! II per cent.
The loss from chick development
or heated eggs is probably greater
than from any other source, and
is especially heavy during the
summer in the south and west,
where it amounts to Is or 80 per
cent Of the eggs produced during
the heated season. The RESPONSE.
Ebility for heated eggs is almost
wholly with the farmer, altho the
rural buyer and the freight handler
are in no wise innocent.
To save the millions Of dollars
which are carried down our sewers
in the shape Of bad eggs, "says Mr..
Hastings, we must have, first, a
campaign Of education among the.
egg producers that will show every
farmer's wife that when eggs are
allowed to remain in damp nests,
under broody hens. or in hot
kitchens, there is a loss in quality
which means an actual loss in mon
ey to herself and to her neighbors;5
and secondly ssysssten, buy ing ing
eggs that will as nearly as possible
recompense every producer who
sells eggs exactly in accordance
with what those eggs are worth.
Above all else, the infallible rule.
concerning the marketing Of eggs
is for the farmer to sell his eggs as
soon as possible after they are
laid. 81
The profits Of the city retailer
are by far the largest item in the
marketing Of eggs. An approxi-i
mate idea Of the profits Of the var
ious handlers of eggs may be OBJ
tanned from the following figures
showing the elements Of cost of a.
dozen eggs purchased BY a New
YORK consumer:
Cents
Paid to the farmer in Iowa Is
Profit to the country store o
Gross profit Of the shipper rs
Freight to New York LIS
Gross profit to receiver Is
Gross profit to jobber rs
Loss from Gambling Is
Gross profit to retailer AS
IA
Cost to consumer Is
In the opinion Of MI. Hastings,
the greatest handicap to the egg.
trade is the general store with its
custom Of bartering merchandise
for eggs. The storekeeper reck
his profit on goods as more than his
loss on eggs. He does not try to
enforce Improvement upon his pa
irons by buying on an equality ba-
isis, and with the advantage his PEI
culiar position gives him he keeps
1.-THE other egg buyers from doing
so.
The circular discusses quite gem
orally the various phases Of the egg
industry, and may be obtained
free Of charge by addressing re-