88 



Poultry Societies in Ireland. 



[may, 



In support of this, I will give some figures showing the 

 benefits of buying and selling eggs by weight. Of the eggs 

 purchased by Dervock Society two years ago, 40 per cent, 

 weighed 131- lb. per 120 ; 40 per cent, weighed 15 lb. per 120 ; 

 20 per cent, weighed 17 lb. per 120, and there were no eggs 

 capable of being graded as 1 8-lb. eggs. 



At the present time 10 per cent, weigh lb. per 120 ; 

 30 per cent, weigh 15 lb. ; 30 per cent, weigh 16 lb. ; 20 per 

 cent, weigh 17 lb. ; and 10 per cent, weigh 18 lb. per 120. This 

 must be regarded as an extraordinary improvement considering 

 the short period in which it has taken place. In cases where 

 our societies have been working during four or five years the 

 increase in weight of eggs is far greater, and a few quotations 

 taken from the books of Mallow Poultry Society, co. Cork, will 

 suffice to illustrate the benefits which accrue from the system of 

 buying and selling eggs by weight : — Four years ago 50 per cent, 

 weighed 13^ lb. ; 30 per cent, weighed 15 lb. ; and 20 per cent, 

 weighed 17 lb. per 120. At the present time 30 per cent, weigh 

 141b. ; 30 per cent, weigh 16 lb. ; 20 per cent, weigh 17 lb. ; and 

 20 per cent, weigh 18 lb. per 120. 



It may be noted that Mallow Society, according to these 

 figures, no longer grades any r 3 J-lb. eggs. The smallest are 

 now 14 lb., and there are only 30 per cent, of these as compared 

 with 50 per cent, of 13J lb. four years ago. The 1 5 -lb. selection 

 has also dropped out, and its place has been taken by 16-lb. 

 eggs, of which there are 30 per cent., or equal to the number 

 of 1 5 -lb. eggs received four years ago. Seventeen-pound eggs 

 stand at 20 per cent, but a new selection has been introduced, 

 namely, 1 8-lb. eggs, of which there are 20 per cent. 



The grading of eggs is done in some cases by the sight and 

 in others by the touch, and according as they are selected they 

 are placed on the special trays shown in the illustrations 

 These trays are made after a model lately introduced from 

 Denmark. They are made of perforated mill-board of best 

 quality, nailed on a frame of light deal. Each tray weighs 

 5 lb., and contains 120 perforations. When the eggs have been 

 graded on to the trays, they are placed, six trays at a time 

 on a scale, in order to see that they are neither over nor 

 under the weight required. They can then be guaranteed as 



