HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



Use Small, Large and Weak Shelled 

 Eggs at Home 



Small eggs mixed with others lower the 

 market grade and lessen their value. 

 Extra large eggs detract from the uni- 

 formity of appearance and they are likely 

 to become cracked and broken on account 

 of their abnormal size. Extra long eggs 

 are especially subject to breakage. Weak- 

 shelled eggs can not withstand much 



BUILD A REPUTATION 



FOR QUALITY EGGS 



"It's Worth the Effort" 



Does your community have a reputa- 

 tion for producing quality eggs? If not, 

 why not? 



Are you doing your part in building 

 the leputation of your community? If pressure and therefore break easily. All 

 you are, you no longer keep scrub or such eggs should be u.sed at home or mar- 

 mongrel chickens. It has been known ^eted to local consuming trade, 

 for a long time that they are a failure — 



that they do not produce either quantity ^'""^^ ^^^s for Size and Color 



or quality. If your neighbors keep scrubs I" ^^"y markets before eggs are sold 



or mongrels, sell or give them several [to consumers they are graded according 



settings of eggs from your standard bred 1*0 quality, size and color. The purpose 



stock. Eventually they must have that is to establish greater uniformity and 



kind— why not make a start now? furnish the consumer with exactly what 



he desires. Freshly laid eggs, one to 



Build With Sttndardbred Stock three days old, should be of uniform 



It would be foolish to expect well-bred quality. Pullet eggs are small and should 



or scrub poultry to produce satisfactorily be graded separately. A flock of stand- 



unless they are properly fed, housed and aid-bred chickens, all of the same strain 



cared for. If you don't intend to give and breed, should lay eggs of a uniform 

 your poultry flock the attention it de- 

 serves, it may be best to keep chickens 



desirable therefore that the eggs be mar- 

 keted every few days to in.sure their 

 reaching the niaiket in the be.st of cjuality 

 and condition. 



Handle Eggs Carefully 

 The shell is thin, porous and often 

 weak. It is easily checked, cracked and 

 broken. A fertile egg contains a germ 

 which at temperatures of 68 degrees 

 Fahrenheit or above, will develop until 

 blood veins appear. Such eggs are unfit 

 for food. The contents of the egg is 

 rich in food materials for the growth of 

 mold and bacteria which may entei- 

 thiough the porous egg shell. All this 

 the producer of eggs should remember for 

 unless eggs are handled carefully under 

 proper conditions, it is impossible to build 

 up a reputation for quality eggs in a 

 community. Furthermore, unless eggs 

 of best quality are produced, they can 

 not be marked at the highest obtainable 

 market price. 



Continued on pagre 10. column 1 



color. But when any are "ofl"' in color 

 they should be graded separately. This 



only for your own needs and not clog the grading at the farm saves labor and 



market with the scrub and inferior ciuali- 



ty stufl' that you have for market. Sue- 



costs in grading in the markets. 



Produce Infertile Eggs 



"Swat the rooster" and you can produce 



infertile eggs. You should produce them 



after the hatching season is over because 



at temperatures of 68 to 103 degrees 



Fahrenheit, there is little change in them 



except an evaporation of moistui'e 



„. 1, 1, J ,, J r u 1 through the porous egg shell. To pro- 



The well-bred, well-cared for hen lays , , • r ^-i n ^i u i 



,T i i . • i XI duce mfertile eggs, sell the broilers as 



cessful poultrymen everywhere are agreed 

 that "it takes the best to produce the 

 best", and only the best brings top mar- 

 ket prices. 



Maximum Production Pays Best 



Every normal hen will lay a few eggs. 



many. Up to a certain point the cost 

 of production exceeds the returns. Be- 

 yond that point profits increase. Maxi- I 

 mum profit results from maximum pro- 

 duction. Maximum production is the re- 

 sult of breeding, feeding, care and hou.s- 

 ing. Read your agricultuial college bul- 

 letins and other literature. Get the facts 



soon as they are ready for market; pen 

 up the rooster's or sell them too, and 

 next .season get such roosters as you re- 

 cjuire from standard-bred poultry farms 

 or flocks. 



Keep I;ggs Cool 



Eggs should be kept cool for two rea- 

 and apply them. Then note the results sons. If they are fertile the germ will 

 obtained from the latest and most im- not develop when the eggs are kept at 

 proved methods. i a temperature below 68 degrees. Evapo- 



ration of moisture through the porous 

 Provide Clean Nests ^[^^11 j^ checked by keeping the eggs cool. 



At least one roomy, clean nest should be All this means better quality and better 

 provided for each five to six hens in the quality means a better price. Price 

 flock. The nest should be free from means profit. If your community is pio- 

 vermin and be provided with plenty of ducing eggs for profit, keep them cool. 



clean nesting material so the eggs are ^, 



, , , J , i I u 1 Market Eggs Often 



kept clean and do not crack or bi-eak. ! 



Conditions on most farms are not sat- 



Don't Wash Dirty Eggs isfactory for keeping eggs longer than a 



Freshly-laid eggs are provided by na- few days. Not only must eggs be kept 



ture with a protective coating and when i" a cool place, but the place must be 



eggs are washed this coating is removed, i ±'i'ee from musty or other undesirable , 



Washed eggs spoil more quickly as the odors for they are quickly absorbed , 



porous condition of the shell permits en- through the porous egg shell. It should 



trance of mold and bacteria causing de- not be too damp or too dry. If too damp, 



composition. Keep the nests clean and the eggs may become moist on the shell , 



the poultry in a clean house and yard, and mold may develop. It too dry, evapo- 



Use the dirty eggs at home or grade them ration takes place rapidly and a large 



separately and sell them as "dirties", air cell develops in the egg which indicates 



Don't wash them. an old egg in shrunken condition. It is 



H. D. SMITH 



Hatfield, Mass. 



GRAIN, COAL, ICE 



AND 



FARM MACHINERY 



j^5^38es!S!ee^^B}^s^^5^5^5^5^)? 



FIRST 



NRTIONRL BRNK 

 NORTHKMPTON ; 



•"■■^ The Bank on tVic CorneT ^^" 



Assets over 

 Three and a half million 



Savings Department 

 Interest payable quarterly 



EDW.XKD L SH.WV, President 

 F. N. KNEELAND, Vice-President 

 ELBERT L. .ARNOLD, Cashier 



ij^^^eeB^ ses esKXt s ts ise oiCicocoar 



