BULLETIN 208.] [JANUARY, 1913. 



Ontario Department of Agriculture 



DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES 



Farm Poultry and Egg Marketing Conditions 



IN ONTARIO COUNTY 



LIBRARY 



By J. H. Hare and T. A. Bknson. now v^j^jc 



^ botanicai^^ 



QAkDEN 



INTRODUCTION. 



In Circular 140 of the United States Department of Agriculture 

 entitled, " The Egg Trade of the United States/' there is reported a loss 

 of 17 per cent., due to the marketing of stale and bad eggs. It is further 

 reported in the " Care of Market Eg:gs," Bulletin No. 16 of the Dominion 

 Department of Agriculture, that this percentage of loss as reported for 

 the United States is a conservative estimate for that which is sustained 

 in the Canadian trade. Over two hundred Canadian egg dealers advanced 

 that opinion and some would have the figure placed still higher. This 

 means that for every 30 dozen case marketed, there is a loss equal to 

 the value of 5 dozen eggs. 



This tremendous toll naturally has a very serious effect upon those 

 concerned with the production and consumption of eggs. By reason of 

 this loss or " shrinkage " the producer is made to accept a lower price 

 for his eggs. Produce dealers are put to the extra expense of employing 

 experts to examine carefully all of their receipts for the purpose of reject- 

 ing those that are not fit for food. Where eggs are not examined, as 

 in the case of practically all those that do not go through the hands of 

 large produce dealers, the consumer finds himself paying out his good 

 money for eggs of which upwards of 20 per cent, are badly deteriorated, 

 or perhaps entirely unfit for use. And that is not all. What is still more 

 serious to the industry is that when a consumer has many such experi- 

 ences he naturally learns to regard eggs with a degree of suspicion. When 

 possible he makes it a point to substitute something else for eggs. In this 

 way the consumption of eggs is very materially curtailed, the demand is 

 lessened, and their reputation as a dependable food product is very seri- 

 ously impaired. 



Another prominent feature of present conditions is the pronounced 

 indflference with which the great majority of people regard the poultry 

 enterprise. It may safely be said that the poultry industry suffers more 

 ^from unjustifiable neglect than does any other branch of agriculture. 



