CARE AND MARKETING OF EGGS. 



BY II. E. T'PTOX. POULTRY INSTRUCTOR. 

 INTRODUCTION. 



HE following bulletin publishes remarks and some conclusions drawn 

 to date by the writer in relation to the existing conditions of the 

 egg market between the producer and the consumer of eggs in the 

 Province. The writer has not gone into the question from the whole- 

 saler's side, for certain reasons, so much as from the standpoint of 

 the man who has eggs to sell or one wishing to buy. 



It has been stated on one side that British Columbia eggs are scarce, and 

 from the other side we hear the remark that the producer cannot sell his eggs 

 at a decent nmrketable price in comparison to the retail price quoted. The fault 

 lies in more than one direction. The main reason why the producer cannot sell 

 eggs supposed to be No. 1 quality is due to the fact that there is no form of 

 standardization. 



The market-man or grocer will not take eggs oftentimes unless they are given 

 in trade for his stock. Such methods are not businesslike in any case, ignoring the 

 fact that the handler secures a profit, first, on the stock given in trade, and, again, 

 on the eggs when they are sold. Still, this same grocer has that right if the eggs 

 brought to him are taken irrespective of the real value. This is due to the fact 

 that nothing ensures him that those eggs are first-class. The consumer, not knowing 

 one egg from another, shows this lack of knowledge when he accepts whatever is 

 given for fresh eggs. 



Complaints have been not at all infrequent during the past season relating to 

 the price of eggs beii'g lower than in previous years. Of course, poor seasons will 

 have more or less effect on the price of eggs, as with other commodities. People 

 on the Coast and Lower Mainland districts should be able to make a good profit on 

 their egg business if they are sold on a yearly average of 32 to 34 cents per dozen, 

 providing their ranch is run on a business basis. With the increased number of 

 poultry being grown in this Province, as also in the adjoining States that compete 

 for our markets, one cannot expect the same prices to exist that were prevailing a 

 few years ago. We doubt if the price will ever drop below the 32-cent average 

 figure, however. 



Prices on some Eastern markets have averaged 35 cents the dozen within a 

 few years. The following season will see eggs at a premium in the West. They 

 will also hold firm in the East. During 1910 and 1911. 31 % an( l 32 cents respec- 

 tively were obtained from one of the big Eastern markets. If these prices are 

 secured when there is treble the competition, with only a fair standard of grading, 

 it seems feasible that poultrymen in this Province and throughout the Dominion 

 have a ' grand chance to meet all competition if a good standard is made and 

 legislation enacted to demand all eggs being sold under the correct trade name. 

 First-class eggs will always command a high premium over the ordinary egg if 

 consumers can be assured what they are paying for. 



A few extracts from a circular entitled " A movement to Increase the Produc- 

 tion and Better the Quality of Canadian Eggs. Through the Adoption of an Improved 

 System of Marketing." to show what Dominion poultrymen from the Rockies to the 

 Atlantic Coast are doing, might be helpful here: 



"It is a matter of grave concern that the average commercial egg seen on the 

 markets of Canada is of such poor quality. Much educational work has been done 



