230 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



people from the larger cities spend their vacations. These 

 assure a good price for eggs during the summer months when 

 they are usually cheap in the regular markets. The price of 

 eggs in Massachusetts during the spring and early summer, the 

 period of maximum production, does not reach the low price 

 attained in many parts of the country. This is due to the fact 

 that millions of eggs are incubated at that time, and also be- 

 cause of the very important fact that hundreds of thousands of 

 eggs are shipped to other States. Massachusetts has long been 

 considered the center for hatching eggs and breeding stock of 

 high quality, and this has a double effect in that it not only 

 means high prices for eggs and stock when market prices are 

 lowest, but it lessens the number of marketable eggs at that 

 season, and thereby insures prices of a higher level. In com- 

 paring this with a section where practically all eggs produced 

 are placed on the general market, and the hatching eggs im- 

 ported, so to speak, it is easily seen that the general trend of 

 prices will be much lower in the latter section than in the 

 former. 



Marketing. 



A very large proportion of the eggs produced in this State are 

 retailed locally. There are very few towns or villages of any 

 considerable size in which the demand is not greater than the 

 supply. Many of the large producers do not cater to the local 

 retail trade, but prefer to ship their eggs to the large cities 

 where they can secure a special price equal to or even greater 

 than the retail price in their home town. 



Parcel Post. 



Parcel post is rapidly coming to the aid of many producers 

 in outlying districts. By this means eggs can be sent to the 

 consumer by the producer in 5 to 10 dozen lots, and the con- 

 tainer returned at a cost of from 4 to 5 cents per dozen. Many 

 people in the large cities and their suburbs are only too willing 

 to pay a little above the retail price in order to get eggs of first 

 quality. Reports from postmasters in various parts of the 

 State show that large quantities of eggs are already being 

 marketed in this way. Dressed poultry are also finding their 



