Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1913-06-27

Large That Government Is Conduct
ing Extensive Experiments TO Mini
n1ize It-Railroads Begin to Regard
Carrying Eggs as Improbable.
To reduce the enormous breakage OF
eggs in transit. which yearly causes Il
loss Of millions of dollars to producers
and raises the price of eggs for con.
sumers. the United States department
Of agriculture, through its bureau OF
chemistry. is conducting extensive ex-
periments to determine the safest man
ner of packing eggs for long and short
shipment by rail.
According to an article in the Year
Book Reprint No 552, which deals
with THE Effect of Present Methods
of Handling Eggs on the Industry and
Product" the waste from the breakage
of eggs in New York city alone in 1909
was over 137,S04.76 eggs or over H.
100000 dozen of eggs out of total
consumption in 1909 of 127 $50. GOO doz-
en- of eggs. In other words, about .
per cent of all eggs received in Ney
York We're cracked, and Of these
large number were unfit for food use.
Eggs Come Long Distances.
The egg supply of large cities, and
particularly New York. has to come
from a long distance because, accord
ing to the thirteenth census, the mid
die Atlantic states in 1909 sold only
about 110,000,000 dozen eggs, or not
enough to supply New York alone Il
every egg had been sent to that point
For the eastern coast cities the dis
tant corn districts are practically the
sole source of supply, because the lit
tie gray hen does not have to scratch
SO hard for living in the cornfield us
she does where grain is scarce. In
ereasing consumption of eggs adds to
the distance from which eggs must
come and makes the safe shipment of
this valuable food product more and
more essential
Preventing Egg 5reakase.
The bureau of chemistry regards the
investigation of the methods Of pre-
venting egg breakage as particularly
important because the many millions
of dozens of eggs now broken in ship
ment naturally tend TO keep the price
of this valuable food higher than If
there were no breakage or the break
age were materially reduced.
The bureau. through the food re-
search laboratory, is now engaged in
shipping eggs handled in different
ways ON long journeys to different
points in the United States and is
carefully noting their condition on re-
ceipt at their destination.
Shippers. railroad men and commits
sion men are cooperating heartily
with the investigators Of the govern
ment through their joint conference
committee composed of representatives
from the National Butter, Egg and
Poultry association, the Traffic Man
ayers Association of Chicago and the
United States department Of agricul-
ture.
Situation Growing Acute.
The situation is growing very acute,
because the railroads are claiming that
their damage losses are such as to
make the carrying of eggs an unprof
liable commercial proposition. The
shippers and consignees have large
sums of money tied up in claims and
litigation with the roads.
If the department of agriculture sue
ceeds, as it hopes to do. in devising
n successful method Of shipping eggs
it will contribute importantly to the
poultry industry, in which the little
gray hen produces food worth half
billion dollars annually.