A HUNGARIAN ENTERPRISE 155 



extensive traders in the London egg and poultry trade. 

 In describing what he saw, Mr. Brown says : 



One of the first things we did was to go into a huge building, 

 divided into two compartments, and here were nearly 300 women 

 and girls engaged at the same time in killing and plucking chickens. 

 The sight was overwhelming. I have previously seen forty to fifty 

 people, but I never came across a place where operations were 

 being carried out to the same extent. These chickens were handled 

 rapidly, and certainly the operators were marvellously expert. As 

 soon as one bird was finished it was taken over by a man whose 

 work was that of shaping, and the girl went off to get another bird 

 without loss of any time. In the yard was standing a great waggon, 

 which had just brought in a lot of fowls, and in that waggon were 

 no fewer than 1,500 chickens. The plucking was well done, al- 

 though somewhat rougher than we are accustomed to see in our 

 best trade. Altogether, there are 400 people employed in the 

 various establishments, and in order to keep them going this firm 

 employs more than 100 collectors in different parts of Southern 

 Hungary, and also buys largely from Servia. Most of the 

 chickens were somewhat lean. 



At this first establishment the work is chiefly confined to hand- 

 ling chickens, and the preservation and packing of eggs. We 

 have small conception of the extent to which preservation is carried 

 out. Here are built underground in cement-lined cellars huge 

 cement tanks, each of which holds 160,000 eggs, and when we 

 mention that there are no fewer than thirty-eight of these tanks, 

 thus holding a total of 5,500,000 eggs, it will be seen that the 

 amount of money invested in this trade is very large indeed. The 

 tanks are filled in the spring and early summer, and the eggs sold 

 in November and December. The process is entirely that by 

 means of lime-water. The cellars are beautifully clean and sweet, 

 and scarcely a speck of dust can be seen anywhere. The tanks are 

 inspected almost daily, and such eggs as float to the top are imme- 

 diately removed, as they are bad. When the time arrives for the 

 sale of the eggs, they are taken out of the pickle, placed in wire 

 baskets, and carried to a warmer room, where these baskets are 

 stacked in tiers in front of a 'Blackman' fan, which, causing the 

 air to pass rapidly, dries the shells very quickly. They are then 

 tested for freshness, every egg passing through this process, and 

 when we mention that there were nearly twenty women engaged 

 in testing the eggs for which purpose electric light is employed 

 it will be realized that a vast number can be handled per diem. . . . 

 After the eggs are tested they are well rubbed, which gives them 

 a polish, and removes any surplus particles of lime. They are then 

 packed in the usual form in long cases, straw being almost entirely 

 employed. At the time of our visit, in each case of eggs, top and 

 bottom, were placed sheets of paper, as it is found that this is a 



