Poultry Meeting at Columbia. 435 



Eggs are bought in most cases just as they come from the 

 farm — good, bad and indifferent, and a flat price of so much a 

 dozen is paid. This nominally places a premium on bad eggs, 

 and the result is that the eggs when collected into the egg 

 depots are usually an uneven lot in size, color and condition. 

 As long as the present system of buying is used there can be 

 little hope of the elimination of the present enormous losses. 

 Until some scheme is devised which will cause the producer 

 of good eggs to realize a greater profit, and the producer of bad 

 eggs to stand a loss because of his carelessness, the egg industry 

 will not approach its possibilities. The "case-count" method 

 of buying should be eliminated from the system of buying 

 eggs. A better method is to buy on a "loss-off" or "quality" 

 basis. The methods which are employed by the country store 

 and by some commission men, in which they buy all eggs just 

 as they come at the flat rate, is what is known as the "case- 

 count" method. 



In some sections, however, there has been adopted a 

 system known as the "loss-ofT" system of buying, a practice 

 which results in the eggs being candled as they are brought in, 

 the good ones accepted at a higher price and the bad ones 

 turned back to the person who produced them.. It is interesting 

 to note that in these sections where the "loss-ofT" system has 

 been used the quality of eggs has improved, and where the 

 system is fully understood there exists greater harmony be- 

 tween the producer and the egg buyer. Many firms candle 

 eggs as they come in, but make the mistake of not explaining 

 to the producer that he is getting a higher price than he would 

 were they not candled. Where the buying is done by an egg 

 dealer and not through the country store this practice seems 

 to be working satisfactorily. However, where the egg dealer 

 and grocer are both working in the same town the grocer generally 

 pays more for the eggs than the egg dealer can afford to pay, 

 making his profit by the goods which he sells. It is thus seen 

 how difficult it is to establish a "loss-ofT" system of buying 

 eggs under those conditions. Where possible, it would be ad- 

 visable for the egg buyers in a certain town to universally agree 

 to buy eggs according to a certain system. If the egg dealer 

 attempts to purchase eggs on a quality basis while the grocer 

 is purchasing case count, it will result in all of the trade going 

 to the' grocer. 



