582 POULTRY CULTURE 



according to agreement. A consignee should not receive from a 

 transportation company and receipt for a shipment not in good con- 

 dition. It is assumed that the transportation company does not 

 receive goods not in good condition and properly packed, and the 

 receipt given the shipper is evidence that the shipment was right 

 when received from him. For damage in transit the transportation 

 company is liable.^ A consignee, having accepted a shipment of 

 live poultry from a transportation company, cannot complain of 

 either the consignor or the carrier if birds are found sick or be- 

 come sick shortly after receipt. He cannot, after accepting them 

 from the carrier, return birds for sickness developing within the 

 period he is allowed for examination. If he does, the consignor 

 may properly refuse to accept them or to refund the money. 



When birds are sold on specifications the buyer may insist on 

 receiving everything according to specifications, but cannot refuse 

 to accept stock for a fault not mentioned in the specifications, ex- 

 cept in cases where a general statement of quality has been made 

 which is a misrepresentation of a specimen with such a fault. One 

 of the most serious causes of trouble to inexperienced buyers comes 

 from misunderstanding the relations of disqualifications to value. 

 Without a disqualifying fault anywhere, a bird may be so poor as 

 to be worthless for either exhibition or breeding purposes. Many 

 breeders consider it legitimate to sell such birds to people who 

 want cheap breeding stock, on the negative representation " not 

 disqualified" or "free from disqualifications"; the buyer should 

 be sure that his order calls for positive quality. The shipper who 

 works off cheap stock in this way loses more than he gains. 



Sales of eggs for hatching may be unconditional or on a guar- 

 anty of fertility or of per cent of hatch. Much dissatisfaction arises 

 in egg transactions because of the poor appearance of eggs of high- 

 class stock. This cannot always be avoided when stock is bred 

 primarily for exhibition quality. Those not willing to accept that 



1 It has been repeatedly decided in court that a transportation company is 

 liable to the full value of birds lost or killed in transportation, even though the 

 shipper had signed the express receipt in common use, limiting the liability of 

 the transportation company to a small valuation per bird, but as a rule claims for 

 damage in excess of the amount specified in the " release " can only be collected 

 in court, and in ordinary cases the trouble and expense of a suit deter the shipper 

 from pressing his claim. 



