The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-12-05

Uncle Sam aids small flock
 Whether the marketing of eggs by par eel post should be attempted by any par ticular producer will depend on his pres ent available markets, the possibility of securing a satisfactory customer or customers, and the care taken to follow tested and approved methods of pre- pairing the eggs for shipment Failures in attempting to ship eggs by parcel post have resulted because proper pre- cautions as to package or contalner, packing and labelling were not ob- served.
 Uncle Sam stars as an egg man at pre- srnt as a result of the high prices of eggs and the excellent facilities which parcel post service provides TOT the transportation of these products of the farm flock to the tables of the city consumers. While the great bulk of eggs which comes from distant pro- ducing territory will continue to be shipped by other methods, city trade can be supplied with large portion of it's fresh eggs from within the first and second zones by parcel post to the advantage of both producer and consumer. The producer who is not satisfied with his marketing facilities may find in the parcel post means of solving his egg selling problems. This applies especially to the man whose flock is so small that he cannot make case shipment, that is shipments in the regular S0-dozen size egg cases.
 Market eggs should be shipped only from healthy fowls that are kept un- der proper sanitary conditions and supplied with sound, wholesome feed If possible, ond non-fertile eggs should be produced for market; fer tile eggs deteriorate rapidly and are the cause of much loss.
 CLEAN THE NESTS
 The nest should be clean and san itary so that the eggs will not be soiled The eggs should be gathered at least once a day and stored in well-ventilated places where they can be kept as cool as possible. As washing removes the mucilaginous coating of eggs and opens the pores of the shell it should never be practiced in the case of eggs in tended for high class trade. Soiled eggs should be used at home or dis- posed of otherwise than to a parcel post customer. Every egg which is shipped by mail should be previously candled so that all eggs which show lany defect may be held at home. For parcel post shipment it is essential that uniform containers and uniform pack should be used, as otherwise the packages will not wear well nor will they look attractive and appeal to the fancy trade. Furthermore the con tainers should be stout and durable |so as to make it worth while to return them as "empties" for subsequent use. The ideal container is simple in lconstruction, efficient in service and Icheap. It must not cost too much and it must be serviceable enough to be used several times
 HOW TO PACK EGGS
 Accordingto the postoffice regula- tions eggs will be accepted for local delivery when they are so packed in a basket or other container as to pre- vent damage to other mail matter. Eggs to be sent beyond the local office are accepted for mailing regardless of distance when each egg is wrapped separately and surrounded with excel sior. cotton or other suitable material and packed in strong container made of double faced, corrugated pasteboard, metal. wood or other suitable material and wrapped so that nothing can es cape from the package. All such par cells must be labeled Eggs EgSs in parcels weighing more than 20 pounds are accepted for mailing to of fices in the first and second zones when packed in crates boXes buckets
  toms to prevent the escape of anything from the package and so constructed as to properly protect the contents, Such packages must be marked Eggs This Side Up,' and must be trans ported outside of mail sacks or boxes. It is advisable that block tissue paper which comes in packages per, or newspaper should be used around each egg, as otherwise there is a danger of breakage in handling. Av- craze hens eggs will weigh about two ounces apiece or between two and three pounds a dozen when properly packed for mailing in carton. Most parcels containing a dozen eggs will exceed two pounds but will not reach three; therefore. the postage on them will be seven cents within the first and second zones or 150 mile limit parcel containing two dozen eggs will add perhaps two cents to the postage though sometimes only one cent de- pending on the character of the con- tainer and wrapper.
 SHIP LARGE SIZE PACKAGES The larger the parcel. within the size and weight limits, the cheaper is the postage, las the first pound of every package costs five cents within the first and second zones, while each ad- ditional pound, up to 30. costs but one cent: so that while a 1-pound parce, would cost five cents postage, a ? pound parcel would cost only six cents or three cents a pound. A 20-pound parcel would cost "A cents and a 50- pound parcel would cost 54 cents, or but 1.0S cents per pound
 Fifty pounds Is the weight limit for local delivery the rates being 5 cents for the first pound and 1 cent addi- tional for each 2 pounds and fraction thereof. Similarly the weight limit within the first and second zones is 50 pounds. A simple rule to determine the postage on any parcel not going beyond this second zone is to add four to the number of pounds. and the resulting number is the postage required in cents. The measurement limit on parcel post