334 POULTRY BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 



in other words the two Q's. If he has both Q's there is no 

 reason why he may not develop a special market and reap 

 a special profit. A few cents difference in the price received 

 for his eggs may not amount to much in the course of a 

 week or a month, but in the course of a year, if he has only 

 a hundred hens, the difference between a good and a poor 

 market would amount to probably $50, or 50 cents per hen ; 

 or $500 on a thousand hens. This represents an increase 

 of 20 or 25%. The great majority, however, of the pro- 

 ducers do not keep one hundred hens. The average farm 

 flock is about 50 hens, and there is not much incentive for 

 the owner to work out better marketing methods. 



In the first place he has not the quantity of eggs to make 

 regular shipments. He cannot go to a dealer or retailer or 

 to private consumers and guarantee a certain number of 

 cases a week or twice a week. He may produce the quality, 

 but without the quantity it will not profit him much. On 

 the other hand he may have the quantity, but not the qual- 

 ity, and he will lose a large part of his profits. The pro- 

 ducer cannot expect the highest prices unless he has in ad- 

 dition to quantity the quality that will command them. 



The problem of marketing is a simple one to the pro- 

 ducer who has a large flock, but to the small producer it is 

 a difficult one, though the small producer in the aggregate 

 furnishes the great bulk of the poultry products of the 

 country. The producers are suffering a loss in marketing 

 the product of probably 20 to 25%, or anywhere from fifty 

 to a hundred million dollars a year in the United States, 

 because they individually have neither the quantity nor the 

 quality to interest them in better marketing methods. They 

 lack the two Q 's. Is this loss inevitable ? Not necessarily. 



Where is the remedy, if there be any ? In the first place, 

 the remedy is largely educational. The trouble has been 

 located and the remedy is known ; it is a question of apply- 



