Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1913-12-30

The newspapers are full Of notices o
the doings OF the Housewives League IL
| various cities in their efforts to reduc
the price of eggs. Probably most o
these women suppose that hen lays Al
egg every day in the year and that tn
high price is due solely TO combination
of dealers artificislly raising the price
It would be news to them that not on,
poultryman in a hundred makes an!
money on eggs when they are 60 to u
cents a dozen. remember seeing lis
of market egg poultrymen who wer'
asked to give the actual cost to them o
eggs produced during November ant
Dece IN Der, and the cost ranged from q
Cents an egg to 81 Is an egg. Think o
a man being obliged TO sell eggs at 81,
cents apiece that actually cost him from
two to ten times as muchi And tha
thing actually happens every year
Why? Simply because the hens dom
lay, and the reason they done lay i!
that they shed their feathers iu the fal
aud grow an entire new sol, and the proc
ess takes an average Of ninety days
three NOTWITHSTANDING which time nG
eggs are laid. II there were no eggs in
market except actually fresh eggs-thai
is, eggs laid within ten days of the time
they are offered for sale-eggs would
now be 81 apiece at the very least.
But what happens is this: Egg specu
lators-and that includes Armour Il Co.
and all the big packing houses-buy uI
eggs all over the West in midsummer al
l5 to 20 cents dozen and put them In
cold storage; then, as real fresh eggs get
scarce in the fall and the price rises,
these storage eggs are put on the markell
very carefully, in limited amounts, so al
not to quite supply the demand, so the
price will continue to rise until 1t reaches
a point where they think it would be
unwise to push il up any further. al
consumption would decrease too much
Then the price is carefully nursed and
made to continue as long as possible
while they gradually unload their stor
age eggs on the market.
October, November and December are
the months during which this operation
goes on. With the beginning of Janu
AIRY many of the hens have finished the
moult, and an Increasing number OF
both hens and pullets begin to lay. 1t ID
evident that the high price cannot be
maintained, and now each Speculation
wants to get rid of his eggs as soon as
possible, and they are put out on the
market in such increasing quantities
that the price drops one-half or more
within a week or two.
There Is every year tremendous
slump in the price of eggs in January,
and each year the slump begins q little
earlier, as each speculator tries to make
sure of the high price and get rid of his
before the drop. When the drop occurs
the Housewives League women say
Look, See how we have dropped the
price of eggsr when as a matter oi
fact their action did not affect the gener.
al market any more than man bailing
out his boat on the seashore affects the
rising or the falling Of the tide.
Take the birds at the egg laying Con-
test at Storrs. Last week they laid
little over five hundred eggs. That is,
eight hundred fowls, with the best oi
feed, housing and care, the birds being
the cream of many hocks, laid tive
eighths of an egg in a week on the aver
age. Do these Housewives League
women imagine that man can make
any profit feeding hen for week fol
five. eight Of an egg, even at 70 cents
dozen? Poultrymen make their money
when eggs are % to 80 cents dozen, and
very seldom, indeed, is any money made
when eggs are 80 10 70 cents Dozen
George A. Cosgrove.