I 



Eggs Under the Hammer 



Marketing of New Hampshire Eggs with Special Reference 

 to the Auction Method of Sale 



L. A. Dougherty 



p OULTRYMEN in New Hampshire are near good markets, and have 

 sold their eggs to advantage in a great variety of ways. Sales di- 

 rect to consumers and in jobbing lots to peddlers and other retailers 

 have constituted important outlets. Sales of hatching eggs have also 

 absorbed a considerable volume at certain times of the year. 



As the volume of business increased, need was felt for some depend- 

 able outlet for large quantities of fine quality eggs. Auctions in other 

 sections and especially in New Jersey had attracted considerable at- 

 tention, and the poultrymen of the state became definitely interested 

 in determining the possibilities of the auction method of sale in New 

 Hampshire. 



It seemed logical to start a study in methods of egg marketing at a 

 time when important changes were about to take place. This study 

 was planned before an auction became a certainty. If it materialized 

 and developed as anticipated, the principal part of the study was to 

 center around the auction method of selling. The auction did mate- 

 rialize and has become an increasingly important factor in the market- 

 ing of New Hampshire eggs. 



The principal purpose of this study was to determine the relationship 

 between different qualities, weights, and methods of handling eggs and 

 the prices received for them. It was also of interest to know how 

 important a role the auction method would assume, to what extent its 

 methods might need to be modified, and to what extent it would in- 

 fluence other methods of sale. 



Source of Data 



Most of the data in connection with auction sales were obtained from 

 individual grading slips and from daily auction sale record sheets. 

 Other data were obtained direct from auction members by mail or by 

 personal contacts. The period covered was from the beginning of the 

 auction in June, 1934, to the end of 1936. 



Data on sales to and by retail stores were obtained from reports 



and inspection records of the State Department of Agriculture, from 



advertisements in newspapers, from producers supplying retail stores 



and from the stores themselves. 



Records of producers selling direct to Boston dealers were obtained. 



I Boston wholesale quotations were obtained from the Boston Fruit and 



■ Produce Exchange daily reports. 



COMPOSITION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FLOCKS 

 Breeds 



The New England Crop Reporting Service reports breeds of chickens 

 kept in New Hampshire in a survey as of June 1, 1935. 



