42 IMPROVEMENT OF THE FARM EGG. 



SEC. 5. Auy person, firm, or corporation convicted of violating any provision 

 of this act shall be punished by a fine in the sum of not less than dollars, 

 itor more than dollars. 



SEC. 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its publica- 

 tion in the statute book. 



In addition to the States named, there is considerable interest on 

 the subject manifested in other Western States. The senior author of 

 this bulletin was invited to meet the State dairy and food commis- 

 sioner and egg buyers of South Dakota in January for the purpose 

 of discussing methods of improving the egg trade in that State, and 

 also addressed the Michigan Car Lot Shippers' Association at their 

 annual meeting in Detroit in February, 1911, where much interest 

 was evidenced in the subject. 



In inaugurating such a movement, the first essential is an organiza- 

 tion of buyers agreed to buy only on a loss-off basis ; the second is the 

 firm cooperation of the State authorities to prevent the shipment of 

 bad eggs within the State. The one is practically useless without the 



other. 



SUMMARY. 



The Bureau of Animal Industry carried on work during the sum- 

 mer of 1910 in the State of Kansas with the object of improving 

 the quality of the eggs marketed in that State. As a result of this 

 work, the loss-off method of buying eggs has been quite generally 

 adopted by the car-lot shippers and has resulted in a most gratifying 

 improvement in the eggs. Considerable interest in the movement 

 has been aroused in other States, so that it bids fair to spread rapidly. 



In connection with the work a careful investigation of all the 

 conditions surrounding the handling of eggs, from the time they are 

 produced on the farm until they reach the packing house, has been 

 made for the purpose of determining the preventable factors causing 

 loss of quality. As a result of this investigation the following sug- 

 gestions are made for the farmer, the country merchant and cash 

 buyer, the railroad, and the car-lot shipper. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR FAltMKK. 



1. Improve your poultry slock. 



2. Keep one of the general-purpose breeds, such as the Plymouth 

 Rock, Wyandotte, Orpington, or Rhode Island Red. 



3. Provide one clean, dry, vermin-free nest for every four or five 

 hens. 



4. Conclude all hatching by May 15 and sell or confine male birds 

 during the remainder of the summer. 



5. Gather eggs once daily during ordinary times, and twice daily 

 during hot or rainy weather. 



