Lower coast gazette., 1914-08-01


those which are, irregular in shape.
unusually long or thin shelled. Con
t~ainers that have been badly stained
by broken eggs should be replaced by
new ones and the package wrapped as
neatly as possible. In short every eff.
fort should be made to deliver as at.
tractive a package as possible into the
hands of the customers. The extra ex.
pense will be little and the returns in
increased trade great.
The larger the shipments that the
producer can arrange to make the
cheaper can he afford to sell his eggs.
Within the first and second zones Of
the parcel post service, q package
costs five cents for the first pound and
only one cent for each additional pound
Ordinarily eggs weigh about l IL
pounds a dozen, which with the addit-
ional weight of the wrapping and con-
tainer, would make q package of a
dozen eggs weigh between two and
three pounds. The postage on this
would be { cents. If another dozen
eggs were Included in the package the
postage would not be more than 8 cents
or 4 ~ instead Of z cents dozen eggs.
To the value of the eggs and the cost
of postage must be added The cost Of
the ~container and the wrapping. For
two dozen eggs this may be estimated
at 8 cents. With postage at 9 cents, it
would, therefore, cost II cents to mar
ket two dozen eggs, or 8 IL cents a
dozen. BY shipping in 10 dozen lots, it
is estimated that the marketing cost
can be reduced to AZ cents a dozen.
Where the container can be used
more than once, this cost can RI course
be somewhat reduced. Large sized
containers will stand from two to four
trips, smaller ones three to five, so
that it will pay the producer to induce
his customer to return the containers
periodically. Thepostage required for
this is of course deducted from the bi !
for the next shipment.
Although it is obviously advanta-
.geous both to the producer and con-
sumer that the eggs be shipped in
large quantities and consequently econ
omically, it must be remembered in
taking orders that the supply of eggs
undergoes the greatest fluctuations. In
times Of scarcity it is not good policy
for the producer to send all his output
to one customer, neglecting his other
friends, nor in times of plenty a he
expect to dispose Of his entire stock to
his regular customers. These points
must be given due consideration and
the quantities that are to be supplied
at each season Of the year carefully
stated in the contract. The price, too,
varies with the supply. One good man.
ner of determining this is to take IS
q basis the wholesale price Of eggs en-
the open market and add to this a GER
tain number of cents per dozen for the
new laid parcel post eggs. Care should
be taken, however, to see that there is
no possibility Of any misunderstanding
arising in regard to the basic price.
To obviata this, the quotations pub
Ashed in a given newspaper or some
other similar authority may be accept
| ed.
Eggs are scarcest and highest in the
fall. Chickens shoull, therefore, be
Matched early enough to begin laying
at this season.. Moreover. little diff
Guilty will be experienced then in dis
posing of the entire output and it will
in consequence be Improbable to d.
vert any Of the supply to home spar-
poses. This difficulty can be over
come by preserving eggs in the spring
when they are plentiful and cheap. A
solution Of water glass, which a be
obtained at drug stores for IS. cents q
gallon, should be used for this purpose,
each quart being diluted with 10 quarts
of water which has been boiled and
cooled. The eggs should be packed in
stone jars or crooks and the solution
poured over them. or they may be care
fully placed in the solution each day.
Eggs kept in this way are perfectly
good but naturally they do not COM
mand the prices Of those newly laid.
The shells sometimes break in boiling,
but this may be avoided by puncturing
the end with a pin just before they are
dropped into the water.
The only drawback to marketing eggs
by parcel post appears to be the time
and trouble involved in packing them.
This is compensated by the extra price
that can always be obtained for pro