172 Egg and Poultry Co-operative Society. [May, 



Ipswich. Agents are instructed to return all bad eggs, to be 

 replaced by good ones at the next collection. Great care is 

 taken in appointing an agent to see that his premises are near 

 a railway station, to prevent waste of time, petrol or horseflesh 

 in carting eggs to the station after collecting and testing. 



Each depot has a set of books for recording in duplicate 

 the collection and despatch of eggs, and sheets are detached and 

 sent to the central office daily. Each agent is provided with a 

 standing balance for the purchase of eggs, and on the purchas- 

 ing daily sheet reaching the central office, the amount spent is 

 forwarded to keep the standing balance normal. 



The day book of each depot is so ruled that the number of 

 eggs collected and despatched on any one day can be seen at 

 a glance, which enables the allocator of eggs at the central 

 office to telephone, wire or write any extra order received, 

 according to the quantity in hand. 



For the first few years the Society supplied all agricultural 

 requirements to its members, but in 1916 the Eastern Counties 

 Farmers' Co-operative Association, Ltd., took over the Goods 

 Department in exchange for their Egg Department, thus leav- 

 ing the Society free to specialise in eggs, with the whole of the 

 Eastern Counties as its field. 



The Society had an uphill fight at first to secure reliable 

 eggs, since producers were evidently unconcerned if an egg were 

 fresh or not, and would not wash a dirty or stained egg, but 

 sent as " new laid " all eggs they came across, without 

 troubling to keep back those that had been partly incubated. 

 The members soon found, however, that effective combination 

 for productive or commercial purposes was not to be accom- 

 plished simply by recognition of the fact that it is necessary 

 to combine. Certain regulations must be carried out, and it was 

 thought advisable to adopt rules which would in time make the 

 Society thoroughly reliable for the despatching of new laid eggs. 



The Committee enforced the Rules by fining for " dirty 

 eggs " and making a deduction for " cookers." It is interesting 

 to give one member's analysis at first joining, and the analysis 

 a month later. 



Eggs. Good. Cookers. Smalls. Bad. 

 First Collection ... 109 4 90 7 8 



Later „ ... 160 150 3 7 — • 



It is regrettable to confess that the War completely upset 

 this system for organising a supply of reliable eggs, because, 

 the continental supply being cut off, the multiple shops invaded 



