318 POULTRY BREEDING 
is allowed to lie in a wet nest or become wet bacteria may 
-enter without resistance. For this reason eggs should be 
kept dry from the time they are gathered until they are 
consumed. ; 
Of the loss of 17 per cent in the value of eggs from the 
time they are produced until they are consumed but 2 
per cent is caused by breakage and all the other causes 
are preventable by using proper care in handling and for- 
warding them to market. This loss the producer bears 
and every one who produces eggs to sell should use his 
best effort to avoid any of these causes mentioned. If each 
one would do his part the whole body of producers would 
feel the benefit in the increased prices which would be 
obtained and the production of eggs would become much 
more profitable than it ever before has been. It is the 
careless producer who brimgs about this great loss for 
which every one suffers the penalty. 
UTILITY CLASSIFICATION.—Sometimes the sev- 
eral breeds of poultry are classified according to their 
advantages as utility fowls. The utility poultryman is 
not usually greatly interested in fancy points, although 
the time seems to be coming when utility and fancy will 
be represented in many cases by the same fowls. Fancy 
poultry breeders are taking great pains in breeding laying 
strains and utility breeders are taking more interest in 
fancy points. With a view to classifiying the breeds 
according to their dominant characteristics we may sep- 
arate them into four general classes: 1. Egg breeds: 2. 
Meat Breeds; 3. General-Purpose breeds; +. Fancy 
breeds, sometimes called Beauty breeds. 
The distinctively egg breeds are rather small in size, 
active, ranging far afield when given their liberty, early 
fo mature and needing good houses in cold weather, more 
