464 POULTRY PRODUCTION 



It is usual, however, for the producer and consumer to be 

 removed from each other by a considerable distance. Some 

 time must elapse after laying, under the most favorable 

 conditions, and at any time of year, before the egg can reach 

 the table of the consumer. During the season of heavy pro- 

 duction very many of the eggs must be preserved, by means 

 of refrigeration, for the season of low production. 



Fig. 224 



A case holding thirty dozen eggs is the wholesale commercial unit. If 

 properly protected with excelsior before being covered, an egg case is a safe 

 and efScient carrier whether the havil is over country roads or by rail. 

 (Courtesy of Kansas Experiment Station.) 



The producer's problem is to prepare the egg for preser- 

 vation or, more acciu-ately, to avoid those conditions which 

 are responsible for the deterioration of the product during 

 the time that must elapse between its production and 

 consumption. 



What the Loss Is. — Every egg that grades below first-class 

 represents an economic loss that increases as the grade 

 lowers. 



These low grades are in a large measure responsible for the 

 wide difference between the price paid to the producer and 

 the price paid by the consumer. The price to consumer 



