IN THE POULTRY YARD, 159 
At first the new system was the subject of a good deal of 
laughter and quiet ridicule. This very ridicule and laughter helped 
me, however. I went to’ a number of the best families in town, 
and left a crate containing one dozen eggs, with the following note 
which I had manifolded on a gelatin pad: 
“T take the liberty of leaving with you a few eggs, the quality, 
etc.; of which you will find fully described on the enclosed circular. 
If, after-trying these eggs, you are.pleased with this method of ab- 
solutely insuring your table against the presence of a stale or 
tainted egg, f shall be pleased to receive your orders for any quan- 
tity, however large or however small. Please preserve the crate, 
which will be called for. Our system is to leave the crate with our 
customers, exchanging full for empty ones when we get orders.. 
Trusting that you will pardon this intrusion, I remain, etc.” 
Now, when we lived in the village we were supplied with eggs 
by our milkman, a very honest, careful fellow. Yet with all his 
care it had sometimes happened that a stale egg would slip into 
the lot—obtained, I suppose, from some nest that had been over- 
looked. Under our system it was difficult for such nests to exist, 
and when we did find eggs -in a stolen nest they were broken, 
cooked and fed to the chickens*. In this way we could abso- 
lutely izsure our customers against stale eggs, and every one 
knows how a single stale egg will spoil the breakfast of a dozen 
people. 
The idea took, as I thought it would. When we called for our 
crates we found in every one an order, of which the following may 
be taken as a sample: ° 
“Having tried your eggs we like your system very much. 
Please bring us 3 dozen on Monday. Mrs. J. Ropinson.” 
* We knew that they could not hatch, and so it would have been a waste of 
gallinaceous time and effort to leave them with the hen. But bens that steal 
their nests generally bring out strong clutches. We therefore placed in the 
nest.a-sitting of. good, eggs, and: we were always rewarded with a lot of fine 
strong chicks. 
