ORDINARY RI5K5 IN POULTRY TRANSACTIONS. 143 



make allowance for possible fraud of this kind, and consider it not as an outrage to be carried 

 to the press, or into the courts, but as an ordinary risk, figuring the price of eggs which, for 

 any reason give unsatisfactory results, into the total cost of the articles purchased. 



To illustrate: Suppose A is a novice who is so situated that he cannot have any direct 

 knowledge of any breeder of the variety of fowls in which he wishes to invest. Suppose he 

 wants to begin with eggs. It is clearly impossible for him to learn of the different breeders' 

 stocks and of their methods of dealing with customers in any other way than by buying of 

 them. He must take some risks or not buy. The first man from whom he buys may not use 

 him right. He may avoid a large loss by making his first investment small. If he is in a 

 position to buy a considerable quantity of eggs he can reduce the risks of unsatisfactory 

 results by dividing his order among several breeders. By doing this he is not likely to get 

 as good results in the aggregate as he would have had if he had placed the entire order with 

 the party or parties whose eggs gave him best results; but he knew nothing of what to expect 

 when he placed the order, and we may assume that he has done much better on the whole than 

 if he had placed the whole order with one of those whose eggs gave him poorest results. 

 Further, while a single test and comparison of this kind does not furnish conclusive evidence 

 as to the character of breeders and the quality of the various stocks, it does afford useful 

 information on these points, and the beginner enters upon his next transaction with better 

 assurance of getting what he wants. 



One who will not buy until he is sure of those he deals with may easily lose more by wait- 

 ing than another who takes chances will lose by the crookedness of some with whom he may 

 deal. It is simply a case of " nothing venture, nothing have." 



Boughten Eggs Which Hatch Unsatisfactory Stock. 



The result indicated in the above heading is properly classed as an evil only when the 

 unsatisfactory results are due to causes reasonably within the control of the person selling 

 the eggs. It is not always possible to say in any particular case whether the seller or the buyer 

 is responsible for unsatisfactory results. It is a fact, well known to poultry keepers whose 

 experience has made them observe the point, that eggs from good stock may produce chicks 

 which, under certain unfavorable conditions of care, feeding, and environment develop into 

 specimens so inferior to the parent stock as to make it hard to believe that they are the 

 progeny of that stock. The fact that the inferiority is due to such causes as are mentioned 

 above is established in cases where from eggs produced at substantially the same time, chicks 

 hatched by one party develop as would be expected, while those hatched by another party are 

 a disappointment. Most of the inferior chicks from stock of fine quality are accounted for by 

 lack of accommodations and lack of skill in those caring for them ; but change of climate some- 

 times has decidedly unfavorable effects on chicks. 



From this the reader will see that the fact that chicks from certain stock were unsatisfactory, 

 does not prove that the breeder was dishonest. It should leave it an open question in the 

 buyer's mind whether the fault lay with the seller, with himself, or with some person who had 

 opportunity to change the eggs in transit. That is done to some extent, though how much it 

 is not possible to say. It can be prevented by sealing packages. Some poultrymen selling eggs 

 for hatching seal every package sent out, and advise customers to take notice whether seals are 

 intact, and report if it is found that they have been tampered with. 



The point we are now considering is not readily separated from the preceding matter in an 

 effort to determine what is wrong in an unsatisfactory case. A breeder of poultry may send 

 eggs that are not as represented, which yet give satisfaction in their results. He may send just 

 what he advertised at the price, and the buyer get stock not at all up to bis expectations. It 

 may be a question then whether the breeder properly estimated the quality and value of what 

 he offered for sale, or if the buyer is a competent judge of the value of what he produced. We 

 cannot here follow the intricacies of such questions. I mention them to show the reader bow 

 impossible it is to make offhand or general decisions as to right and wrong in such matters. 



We can, however, say that when a person advertising poultry sells eggs he would not expect 

 to give him the results he knows his customers want, he is acting dishonestly, and that when 

 the poultry keeper who is not quite sure of his own judgment of his stock, relies upon his 

 judgment only in selecting and mating it for selling eggs for hatching, he makes a mistake. 



