POULTRT-CRAFT. 201 



while there is danger of their being chilled in transit, but intending buyers 

 begin making inquiries early, and many orders are placed in January and 

 February for March and April delivery. 



As with fowls, the price should not be put too low. If the stock is of 

 quality to justify the price, a breeder is quite likely to sell as many eggs at 

 $2 as at a lower price, and sell to a better class of customers, better informed 

 of the ups and downs of buying eggs for hatching, and consequently more 

 reasonable and more agreeable to deal with. Nearly all breeders make reduc- 

 tions in prices for several sittings ordered at one time. This one can well 

 afford to do, for the work of selling and handling one sitting costs quite as 

 much as for two or three. 



It is quite a common practice to reduce the price of eggs for hatching late 

 in the season. Those who do this think the eggs, while worth less than 

 earlier in the season, are still well worth the price asked for them, and that 

 the reduction extends their trade and the general interest in pure bred poultry 

 by giving an opportunity to those least able to buy to start with good stock. 

 Those who hold to one uniform price throughout the season, think it, in the 

 long run, to their own best interest, and for the good of the varieties they 

 breed, not to encourage people to hatch late chicks from stock more or less 

 debilitated by a season's producing. 



The practice in regard to guaranteeing hatches, is divided. The breeder's 

 usual guaranty is that the eggs shipped are true to name, from the stock 

 described in his advertisements and circular, fresh, and running high in 

 fertility ; just such eggs as he sets to hatch his own stock ; carefully packed 

 and delivered to the express company in good condition. Not many breeders 

 guarantee more than this. All honest breeders, however, replace eggs if their 

 own hatches and general reports of customers indicate that their stock is not 

 breeding right. Some guarantee six, seven, nine, or ten chicks from each 

 sitting of eggs ; some replace eggs that gave poor hatches at half-price, and 

 duplicate very poor hatches and total failures free. If a breeder has fulfilled 

 the conditions of such a guaranty as is outlined above, he is under no obliga- 

 tion to do more, for a good hatch depends on too many contingencies altogether 

 beyond his control 



296. Packing and Shipping Eggs for Hatching. Eggs are shipped 

 by express, always. Small lots of one, two, or three sittings, are packed in 

 baskets specially rnade in various sizes for this purpose, or in common splint 

 baskets, or in fruit (grape) baskets. Often a shipper can get other baskets 

 more conveniently and at less cost than the special egg baskets, and many 

 prefer them, irrespective of cost. With the regular egg baskets, pasteboard 

 boxes having compartments for each egg are used. In packing, a little chaff", 

 or fine excelsior is first put in the bottom of each compartment, then the eggs 

 are put in, small end down ; the spaces around them filled up with chaff, and 

 the cover of the box securely tied. Excelsior is packed under, around, and 



