28 



BULLETIN 776, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



According to the prices quoted on the New York market, 

 if that portion of the public which purchased the cold storage 

 eggs for the season had purchased fresh eggs instead, the 

 6,602,711 cases which they bought for $74,118,668 would 

 have cost them $99,593,511 or $25,474,843 more than they 

 paid for the storage stock. While it is true that many people 

 could not have afforded the fresh eggs at the prices quoted and 

 the consumption would have been reduced, it is also true that 

 the increased demand, on account of the smaller supply avail- 

 able, had there been no storage stock, would no doubt have 

 sent prices much higher. 



Table 30. — Value of case eggs distributed from cold storage during 1917- 

 1918 season at prices for vrhich fresh eggs were sold during same 

 period on New York market. 



Date, 



Percent- 

 age of 

 total 

 holdings. 



Moved out 

 of storage. 



Price 



per 

 dozen. 



Selling 

 price. 



August 



September. . . . 



October 



November 1 . , 

 November 15 . 

 December 1 . . , 

 December 15. 



January 



February 



Per cent. 



8.4 



8.4 



16.4 



11.8 



13.2 



- 12.6 



12.1 



15.0 



2.1 



Total. 



100.0 



Dozens. 

 16,638,832 

 16,638,832 

 32,485,337 

 23,373,597 

 26,146,736 

 24,958,248 

 23,967,841 

 29,712,199 



4,159,708 



198,081,330 



Cents. 



38.2 



39.8 



40.7 



44.9 



61.6 



54.8 



58.8 



64.8 



57.3 



50.3 



Dollars. 



6,356,034 



6,622,255 

 13,221,532 

 10,494,745 

 13,491,716 

 13,677,120 

 14,093,091 

 19,253,505 



2,383,513 



$99,593,511 



It is also apparent that, lacking storage facilities, the eggs 

 that were placed in cold storage would otherwise have been 

 disposed of through consumptive channels during the season 

 of production and probably would have caused a substantial 

 reduction in the prices at that time. There is, of course, no 

 means of ascertaining the actual reduction that would have 

 occurred, but it is probable that in many cases the prices 

 would not have covered the cost of production. 



REVIEW OF THE 1917-1918 SEASON FOR COLD STORAGE OF 



FROZEN EGGS. 



The first report of the Bureau of Markets showing holdings 

 of frozen eggs was issued on May 1, 1917. Reports were 

 received from 125 cold storage plants, and their holdings were 

 2,659,380 pounds. The stocks gradually increased until Sep- 

 tember 1, when 165 warehouses reported 18,099,262 pounds. 

 This was nearly three times as many pounds as were stored 

 on the same date of the previous year. Table 31 shows the 

 holdings of these firms segregated by sections and the holdings 

 of 91 storages compared with the amount held by them in the 

 previous season. 



