Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1913-11-27
CoAxNG HEN TO TWO EGGS
Uncle Sans Experts Trying to Find
Way to Meet Demand.


back on them.
The Tar heel State now ranks we'll
with the best poultry producing
States. Within the last 10 years
much has been done to improve poul-
try in North Carolina. The only
trouble. now is the lack of quantity,
as the demand for eggs and chickens
is greater than aver before.
Two things Uncle Sans experts
are hunting for:
ID A hen that lays every day in
the year Y CD a ~container to ship eggs
in by parcel post.
These finds made, the cost of living
can be reduced.
The decision of animal husbandry of
the Bureau of Animal industry says,
Cut out the middle man and bring
the producer and the consumer to-
gether through the parcel post" But
DR.. A. D. Melvin, chief of that bn
reau, says that is easier said than
done. How to get the egg from the
farmer, or the poultryman, to the
consumer without the employment of
the middleman is the problem.
The softness of the egg shell is the
great obstacle in the way. No con-
tainer that exactly fills the bill has
been found. If the container is Sc
cure it weighs too much; if light
enough: it is not secure, and not only
is there a loss of eggs but of other
things in the mail bag when the egg
basket gives way.
A hen that lays every day in the
year would be worth her weight i'll
gold. Eggs sold for 5 cents a piece
in Washington and 6 IA in New
York this week.
There were laid in the United
States last year loo, OOO, 900 dozen
eggs, worth $3.50, $1,000.
The price of eggs has gradually
increased for 20 years. In 1900 New
York paid for the average best fresh
eggs: Low II cents; high, 29 cents.
In 1912 the figures we're: Low, 20.
IL; high, 60.
At the same time New York has
been consuming more eggs each sue
&C eding year. E
In 1900 2,799,737 cases of eggs
were received by New York; last year
the number increased to 4,723,55S.
In 1891 Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati,
New York, st. Louis, San
received 5~,040,SSS cases
OF eggs, last year 49, ,4O1.
1.-The quickest way to arouse a de-
sire in the producer to raise better
chickens and supply better eggs is to
show him that good quality poultry
and eggs are worth more than those
Of poor quality" said H. c. Pierce, Of
the food research laboratory, of the
Bureau of Chemistry.
In the Southern States this has
been DONE At n time the North
Carolina egg va considered the poor
EST on the market. The meat was
can. When the producers found that
eggs weighed more than poor ones
hey began to take better care OF
heir hens and got better eggs. Soon
North Carolina eggs ranked with
he Tennessee and Kenucky eggs.
Mr.. Pierce says that $45, 0O0, 900
worth of eggs are lost annually in
his country between the producer
md the consumer. @
In marketing eggs there is an
enormous loss" said Mr.. Pierce.
Much of this is preventable. While
his loss falls upon al who handle
eggs it is borne chiefly by the pro-
and the consumer. The pro-
loss, caused by a decrease in
price, under present conditions repre-
sents that due to spoilage or poor
quality. The consumers loss is due
to- a curtailed supply because of the
dozens of eggs that are either of poor
quality or a total loss. Hence the
consumer has to pay higher prices
for that which finally reaches him.
while these losses are increased
at all stages of handling by the pro-
Queer, the country storekeeper, the
producer dealer, the railroad, the
commission man, and jobber, and the
retailer, the greatest preventable loss
occurs before the producer dealer OBJ
tains the goods, that is, while the
are still on the farm or in the
hands of the small country store
keeper, who takes eggs in exchange
for supplies