798 



READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



having its headquarters in one of the larger cities and engaging 

 in both wholesale and retail business. Its transactions will in- 

 clude the handling of perhaps a dozen carloads of eggs daily. 

 A large number of regular agents in the field provide for most of 

 the buying. Additional purchases come through creamery men, 

 country merchants, and wagon men or special travelling agents 

 who are added to the force of regular agents during the months 

 of heaviest buying for cold storage. Such a firm will also make 

 purchases from time to time from other cash-buying firms. 

 Most of the smaller purchases are shipped in to headquarters 

 in less than carload lots directly from country towns. A certain 

 day each week is selected as shipping day from each town. The 

 exact day chosen is usually determined in the light of the kind 

 of refrigerator-car service available. Egg purchases from the 

 different country stores are assembled at the depot in time for 

 shipment. In some instances the eggs will be candled locally 

 and classified accordingly. Most of the time, however, no attempt 

 of this sort will be made at the local station. The eggs, packed in 

 cases, are then sent to headquarters in the city. Here all eggs are 

 candled by experts- whose knowledge, experience, and equipment 

 enable them to classify eggs far more accurately than can be done 

 in the local towns. While the average quality of eggs received at 

 present is far superior to what it was five or ten years ago, ship- 

 ments of eggs are still received in such condition that considerable 

 room is left for improvement. The candling test of three ship- 

 ments of eggs received by one large cash-buying firm from country 

 towns during the month of September reveals the following record : 



GRADES FOUND IN THREE SHIPMENTS, SHOWN AS 

 PERCENTAGES 



The above eggs had been candled by country merchants and 

 were reported in first-class condition. They were shipped in 



