COMMISSION MERCHANTS' WORK 429 



men find it profitable to distribute retail or direct to the con- 

 sumer, the producer should find it equally profitable, providing 

 he follows practical methods. 



In addition to the loss in price due to the charges and profits 

 previously mentioned, it should also be borne in mind that the 

 more eggs are handled the more their quality depreciates, conse- 

 quently their value is discounted, as we have shown in a pre- 

 ceding chapter. 



Number of Handlings. — Though transportation facilities are 

 relatively simple, it is surprising to note the number of times a 

 shipment of eggs is handled even when the eggs are produced 

 within a hundred miles of their ultimate market. Eggs produced 

 on a Pennsylvania or New Jersey poultry farm and consigned to 

 a New York commission merchant are packed in 30-dozen crates. 

 The crate is delivered to the express agent by the poultryman, 

 the agent puts it aboard the train, and while it is in the care of 

 the express company it may be handled four or five times before 

 it reaches New York. At the railroad terminal the crate is re- 

 moved from the car to the warehouse, and later loaded into a truck 

 and delivered to the commission house to which it is consigned. 



Conunission Merchants' Work. — Most commission merchants 

 find it necessary to unpack, candle and grade the shipment, after 

 which the eggs are sold to a retail store or hotel, or frequently the 

 wholesale house will sell the shipment to a jobber, who will dis- 

 tribute to the retail stores, restaurants and other consumers in 

 one or two case lots. The retail store distributes the eggs to the 

 ultimate consumer in dozen lots. The eggs have probably been 

 handled twenty times, which does not improve their quality, 

 particularly if they have been kept in warm temperatures or 

 where the atmosphere is not as fresh as it might be. Such is the 

 devious route by which a local shipment of eggs is received, and 

 if they are of prime quality, they are known to the trade as 

 "Nearby Hennery Fancy." 



Eggs of this grade, however, are more or less limited, and if the 

 public had to depend upon them alone, there would be an egg 

 famine. The greater number of eggs consumed in the large 



