St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1910-07-06

Eggs to sell as fancy stock must be
first of a good size The best grade
of Danish eggs weigh twenty-nine
Dunes 10 the dozen. Eggs weighing
less than twenty four ounces to the
dozen or eight To u pound cannot be
considered first class stock. The bet
ter CRATES of the American Leghorn
egg farm shipments run about twenty
five to twenty six ounces. Uniformi-
ty in size is quite important as it
gives a .better impression of the ac-
tuaI size than do mixed lots. Putting
in extra large eggs will make the or
binary ones look small. Uniformity
of color is important in some markets.
In others this matter is given little
consideration Cleanliness is always
important. This means clean nests.
Washing eggs is a poor business. as it
takes time. leaves the eggs looking
mussy and increases the contamina-
ton of bacteria which causes the eggs
to rot
Youth in eggs does not guarantee
what the consumer considers fresh
ness. Eggs will spoil more in a hot
kitchen in two days than they will in
a cold storage house in thirty days
The first thing essential in eggs that
are to show quality is that they be
infertile This is especially impor
tant in summer time. and l would ad
wise all those catering to fancy egg
markets to kill off or pen up all male
birds after the middle of May. Eggs
must be kept dry at all times. When
the shells become damp. bacteria
grow through them and start decay
On the other hand, if eggs are kept
very dry, warm or exposed to wind
the water will evaporate. causing the
contents to shrink in the she'll.
The number of cracked eggs de-
ponds very largely upon the security
of the package If you ship in cases,
get new cases, not secondhand ones.
They cost only one-half a cent dozen
more. and for high grade eggs appear
ance alone is well worth the differ
ence. Use new filters in the case, and
use clean. new excelsior on top and
bottom instead of old newspapers.
There are two tricks of the trade
used to impress the consumer with the
fact that the eggs are guaranteed
fresh. One is to rubber stamp the date
on the egg. The other is to pack the
eggs in cartons holding a dozen each
which are sealed with a gummed pa
per seal These seals may be dated if
one wishes to carry the argument that
far. Rubber stamping will cost but
tenth of a cent a dozen for labor,
whereas cartons will cost anywhere
from a cent to cent and half each,
according to their quality. If long 1.-TWO
eggs by six cartons are used they
may be packed in regular thirty dozen
cases. This form of shipment is good
where you can sell such packages to
retail grocers. The producers name
being on the package the consumers
learn to call for his brand. and the gro
Ger then must buy of you or lose the
trade. The retailer is usually wise"
to this scheme and prefers to use car
tons with his own name.
Poultry Flesh For Market.
The preparation of poultry flesh for
the market begins in the conditioning
of the fowl. LeghOrn brOilers do not
need any special fattening or feshing,
for when growing rapidly at the age
of eight or ten weeks they are in
prime condition for eating. Likewise
hens that are being sold after their
usefulness as layers is over will re-
quire no special fattening. as they do
not gain in weight enough at this time
to pay for the extra trouble.
Young male birds of the heavy
breeds of chickens are most proftably
sold at from three to four months of
age AT this time they should weigh
from three and one-haIf to four pounds
apiece and can be materially improved
in quality and be made to gain rapid
ly in weight if they are placed in
coops or even shut up in small yards
and fed heavily from two to four
weeks on soft ground foods. Such fat
tening rations should be made of
ground grain, as cornmeal and mid
dlings or. better still, oats finely
ground and the hull sifted out, mixed
with milk or buttermilk into a soft
batter. If no milk is available it will
be necessary to add 10 per cent of
meat meal to this mixture An occa-
sional relish of green food is also de-
sirable.
Fowls fattened in this fashion not
only make clear gain in weight that
is profitable, but gain materially in
the quality of the flesh. These milk