460 POULTRY CULTURE 



nature of eggs. The eggs from the producer to the consumer 

 take a rather circuitous route. First, the eggs are gathered 

 on the farm, in many cases when convenient, sometimes once 

 a day and sometimes once or twice a week. They are then 

 taken to the house and held until it is convenient to take them 

 to town. Then, just before going to market, perhaps, the 

 children are sent to search for nests, and a few hidden nests' 

 eggs are added to the collection. Many times these eggs are 

 then taken to the store in the country town and traded for 

 merchandise, and then held for a time by the merchant under 

 very unfavorable conditions before being disposed of to the 

 buyer of some packer or wholesale egg house, at which time they 

 are hurried to the city wholesale firms. The common carriers. 



Fig. 183. — A con^'enicnt three-compartment egg carrier. 



the railroads, and the express companies in particular are 

 unmindful of the fact that the eggs are perishable products 

 much less breakable, and they are thrown in handling by careless 

 employes and allowed to set in the hot summer's sun for hours. 

 When they reach the city they may be placed in cold storage 

 for a while, or they may be placed on the retail market. The 

 deterioration in cold storage is a slow process, and months 

 are required to noticeably affect perfectly fresh eggs. Eggs 

 should be perfectly fresh when placed in cold storage, and 

 should not be placed in storage with fish, kerosene, and other 

 products, as the objectionable odors are absorbed through the 

 pores of the shell into the eggs as milk and butter absorb these 

 objectionable odors. Cold-storage people recognize these 

 facts and provide separate compartments for eggs. The 

 jobber or wholesale merchant candles the eggs and grades them. 

 Thus, in New York City, where there are establishments 



