The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1910-03-17
On Unofficial Figures Il Amounted
to Almost a Quarter Million.
YEARS LAY 100000 DOZEN
Egg Merchants Claim Cold Storage is
a Sort Of insurance--It Raises
Price in Summer and Low.
ers II In Winter. ass
(specIal Corresnondence.)

closed, in was discovered that Their,
had been an actual loss on the 30,
100000 dozens of eggs that were pu
into the warehouses last spring, sum
mer and fall. On ten per cent of thu
stored eggs a profit had been made
on ten per cent the accounts were
about even; but on the remaining 81
per cent there had been an obsolut'
loss. A loss of l per cent per dozer
on 24,000,000 dozen eggs, woult
amount to $240,0O0,00.
These are unofficial figures giver
out by the officials of the Chicago
Butter and Egg Board. The egg
storage year begins April and closes
January l. There are no cold storage
eggs in Chicago now and have moi
been any for two months.
Chicago is the greatest egg stor
age point in the country" said Way
land Palmer, chief egg inspector fol
the board. Our warehouses have ca
pacity of 100000 cases. The totaI
number of eggs produced in the coun
try is nearly 100000 cases, OF
which less than per cent are stored
Upon the same basis the fresh eggs
disposed of in Chicago annually
amount to 12,500,000 cases, as against
100000 cases of storage product. A
case contains 80 dozens.
There is little money in cold stor
age eggs. Counted by themselves
there seldom is any money in them
The egg merchants use the cold stor
age plants as a sort OF insurance
concern to save them from big losses
in the summer when there is a great
overproduction and In winter when
without the storage eggs they would
have no business at all, while all
their expenses were going right along
Egg dealers make their purchases
in the spring and summer and fall
and place the surplus in cold storage
The storage charges are l cent a
dozen--30 cents "a case-for eight
months from April to January. AT,
ter January there is a charge OF
FIVE cents per case per month.
IAN egg that is perfectly good
when put in cold, storage will be just
as good at the end of six months. but
no egg will keep for a longer period
than a year. s .s... ..
Perhaps it may be of interest to
state that any consumer can store
his own eggs In the cold storage
plants upon the same terms the deal,
ers pay. Eggs In as small euanti'
ties as ten cases will be accepted for
storage.
''This last year the average cost OF
the storage eggs, when taken out,
was "a cents per dozen. The average
selling price, wholesale, was 21h
cents. On the face of these figures
there is a net loss of ~ cents per
dozen. The total loss for the year
was not that much, however, as there
was a good profit upon about ten per
cent of the stored eggs, and the deal
ers about broke even on another ten
per cent.
I'm figuring up the losses, OF course,
summer business. Without the cold
storage plants eggs would be selling
as low as s cents dozen in the
summer; if they did all the farmers
would make their hens stop laying.
By putting the surplus in cold stor-
age the egg dealers save the market
from going to smash and at the same
time arrange it so the consumer can
have his eggs at reasonable prices
through the remainder Of the year.
81 recall the time when eggs were
sold in Chicago in the summer
months at s and 10 cents a dozen.
But in the winter they sold for from
As to so eents--when they could be
bought at ALL Now the summer prices
are higher, but the winter prices are
lower, and the average for the year
will be about the same, with steady
supply. ..l ..,..
There are some peculiar phases in
the egg business. Fresh eggs in larg,
ger quantities than the demand re-
quires, begin to come about April ]
and continpe on until frost. The first
eggs that reach Chicago come from
Kansas, and the Kansas eggs nearly
always are in better condition when
they arrive than are the eggs firm
the nearer states That is because
the Kansas poultry men and egg mer-
chants have used a little thought in
their work.
Eggs, If they are to be good for
cold storage purposes. must be care
fully handled. Kansas farmers have
been educated to do this. They
gather their eggs two and three times
day in warm weather. put them IN
cool places and dispose OF them either
outright or on commission. to local
dealers who win store them In cool
place until shipping time.
|, Our eggs come principally IRON
Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota
Wisconsin. Missouri and Illinois. u
frequently happens that eggs from
Kansas and Nebraska In midsummer
are in better condition than those
from Minnesota and Wisconsin.