STUDIES IN EGG-MARKETING 805 



system of rigid public inspection has been advocated. It is held 

 that such a provision would tend to discourage excessive concen- 

 tration and at the same time prevent the holding of eggs beyond 

 a safe time limit. On the other hand, there are those who main- 

 tain that publicity is useless and that the only need in connection 

 with our modern cold-storage system is to distinguish between 

 fresh and storage eggs and frankly recognize the identity of each 

 in the regular course of trade. By giving the cold-storage egg a 

 grade of its own and selling it as such, it is held that the public 

 will soon recognize its merits, as it has in the case of velvet chaff 

 wheat, and that the resulting increase in demand will likewise 

 gradually remove any marked disparity between its price and that 

 of the standard grade. 



The above opinions reveal two distinct problems in connection 

 with modern cold storage : one relating to a control of the supply, 

 the other brought on by the tendency of certain jobbers and 

 retailers to offer storage eggs in the market as fresh eggs. Both 

 problems involve evils, the prevention of which should engage our 

 serious attention. Neither of these difficulties should be permitted 

 to impair the efficiency of our modern machinery of egg-marketing. 

 Suggested remedies, which in the opinion of the writer may afford 

 effective relief, are presented in a later section of this paper. 



Let us now summarize briefly the main headings discussed 

 thus far. We have seen the restrictions and limitations of 

 the early local market and the enlarged field afforded through 

 the agency of the commission man. We have also noticed the 

 further widening of the market in space and in time by means 

 of improvements in facilities for transportation and cold storage. 

 A study has been made of the types of cash-buying firms that 

 have occupied this larger market. Their buying has been done 

 mainly from country merchants either through travelling agents 

 or local dealers, or through the use of mailed quotations. The 

 shipments received have been handled and graded at the primary 

 market. The part to be sold has either been sorted for local 

 retail trade or packed in carload lots for shipment to other 

 primary markets, while portions to be held for a future market 

 have been placed in cold storage. 



