CHAPTER XII 
HOW EGGS ARE MARKETED 
The methods by which the larger number of American eggs 
pass from the producer to consumer is as follows: 
The eggs are gathered by the farmer with varying regular- 
ity and are brought perhaps on the average of once a week, 
to the local village merchant. ; 
This merchant receives weekly quotations from a number of 
surrounding egg dealers and at intervals of from two days to 
two weeks, ships to such a dealer, by local freight. The 
dealer buys the eggs case count, that is, he pays for them by 
the case regardless of quality. He then repacks the eggs in 
new cases and, with the exception of a period in the early 
spring, candles them. 
This dealer, in turn, receives quotations from city egg 
houses and sells to them by wire. He usually ships in car- 
load lots. The city receiver may also be a jobber who sells 
to grocers, or he may sell the car outright to a jobbing house. 
The jobber re-candles the eggs, sorting them into a number of 
grades, which are sold to various classes of trade. The last 
link in the chain is the housewife, who by ’phone or personal 
call, asks for “a dozen nice fresh eggs.” 
This most frequently repeated story of the American egg 
applies particularly in the case of eggs produced west of the 
Mississippi and marketed in the very large cities of the Hast. 
We will now discuss the various steps of the egg trade, 
pointing out the reason for the existence of the present 
methods and their influence upon quality and consequent 
value. 
The Country Merchant. 
The country merchant is the logical business link between 
the farmer and the outside world and usually continues to act 
as the farmers’ buyer and seller until the commodity dealt in 
becomes of such importance as to demand more specialized 
form of marketing. Eggs being a perishable crop continuously 
produced, must be marketed at frequent intervals, and the 
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