822 READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



cents per dozen from spring until January first to cover interest, 

 rentals, and insurance. The jobber, however, who holds eggs 

 during this period assumes the risk of being able to unload his 

 holdings so as to meet the above carrying charge in addition to 

 the original purchase price. He counts on selling at a higher 

 figure than the sum total of items enumerated above, and because 

 of this incentive he has been induced to remove a certain stock 

 from the season of surplus. Just what profit is thus secured varies 

 among jobbers in the same primary market and among the differ- 

 ent primary markets. It also varies with the kind of eggs handled 

 and with the season of the year when they are unloaded. It in- 

 volves not merely the risks attendant upon market changes during 

 a storage season, but other considerations as well. 



Within the same primary market will be found dealers whose 

 superior knowledge of marketing conditions or whose superior 

 equipment or greater capital enable them to buy to better advan- 

 tage as well as to sell at an advance over what is secured by 

 weaker competitors. As between different primary markets, other 

 things being equal, there is added expense incurred in the larger 

 primary markets over that of smaller primary markets. 



In New York City the large scale handling involved has given 

 rise to the presence of both a commission man and a jobber 

 in the chain of middlemen between the shipper and the retailer, 

 whereas the commission man has been practically eliminated in 

 the Twin Cities. 



The various items of expense to be included under middleman 

 charges for the handling of eggs in New York City have been 

 set forth in a report recently issued by a committee of the New 

 York State Food Investigating Commission, and are indicated in 

 the following table, which is quoted almost exactly. This table 

 is supposed to show the accumulation of charges on eggs based 

 on a hypothetical basic price of twenty cents per dozen. 



