584 POULTRY CULTURE 



quality, and any birds of quality equal to or approaching that of 

 the breeders should be held at prices which fairly represent their 

 value. A small breeder does not often have many of these after 

 he has selected his own breeders ; hence he can afford to hold 

 them until he gets his price, even though he has to carry them 

 into the second year. 



From the time he begins to sell stock a poultry breeder should 

 make a practice of carefully grading it according to his scale of 

 prices. Many beginners selling at low prices neglect this on the 

 ground that, as the poorest they have are worth the price, every 

 customer gets his money's worth, and if some get more than that, 

 no harm is done. To say nothing of other aspects of the case, this 

 is a serious mistake for a breeder to make, for while the egg trade 

 must always be something of a lottery, the most important thing 

 in selling high-class birds is to determine their money value cor- 

 rectly and give each customer good value — full measure of quality 

 — for the price, but not the quality which should bring a better 

 price. It is the buyers, — the public, — not the seller, that make 

 prices in fancy poultry. Prices rise steadily because people are 

 increasingly willing to pay high prices for fine specimens. The 

 breeder always has to consider, before he sells his best bird at a 

 price, however high, whether an inferior bird would suit that cus- 

 tomer, and what, if he lets this bird go, he will do for a customer 

 willing to pay a still higher price. Such conditions in a trade easil\- 

 lead to abuse of the confidence of customers ignorant of values, 

 but such abuses work their own cure by putting out of business 

 those who practice them. The salesman in this line must have 

 nice judgment of values, and apply it honestly ; he should lose no 

 opportunity to train his judgment. As a novice he ought also to 

 consider that he is likely to make mistakes ; and when complaints 

 are made as to the quality of the birds he furnishes, he should 

 consider them carefully and adjust any error found. 



Packing and shipping. All poultry and eggs of this class are 

 shipped by express. The question of shipping by freight is agitated 

 occasionally, but general conditions of freight traffic make the risk 

 too great. 



Poultr)' is shipped mostly in light wooden coops, tight all round 

 except at the top, which is slatted. Coops of this style may be 



