52 BULLETIN 1385, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
In Italy it was found that eggs stored in the original packages 
under refrigeration did not keep as satisfactorily as they did in the 
more northern sections, probably because the eggs stored were the 
summer eggs produced in Yugoslavia and Italy after shipment to 
northern markets had declined. These eggs, having a natural higher 
initial temperature, would deteriorate more rapidly and for a longer 
period of time after storing than those produced under cooler 
climatic conditions. 
To remedy this situation, the system has been developed of remov- 
ing the eggs from their cases and storing them loose in trays in 
the refrigerated rooms. Shallow trays, containing 30 dozen eggs 
each, are placed on slides in racks one above the other. The trays 
have slatted bottoms, and there is a space between them of about 
iy 2 inches — just enough for the slide between the top of one tray 
and the bottom of the tray above it. Each tray is marked with the 
kind and grade of eggs it contains. The refrigeration used in these 
rooms may be either direct ammonia expansion with piping in the 
rooms, brine circulation, or indirect refrigeration by cooled air. The 
temperatures maintained vary with different establishments from 
0° C. (32° F.) to -1° C. (30.2° F.), of which 0° C. is the more 
common. The shrinkage by storing in racks as against original 
cases is believed to be somewhat more. In Milan it was stated that 
the shrinkage amounts to 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) per thousand 
eggs from April until November, or slightly less than 2 per cent. The 
eggs maintain their flavor and interior quality for about eight 
months, after which they deteriorate rapidly. 
Storage of eggs in American-style cases is practically unknown 
except in England and Scotland, where eggs have been packed in the 
United States and Canada and shipped in the spring, or where 
native eggs have been packed and stored in secondhand American 
cases. 
WHOLESALE SELLING OF EGGS 
Eggs are sold at wholesale in the larger European cities by com- 
mission men, jobbers, and brokers. These agencies perform prac- 
tically the same function as similar organizations in the United 
States and in approximately the same manner. The commission men 
receive shipments from various independent firms and make returns 
based on the sale of the eggs, less commission and handling charges. 
The jobbers of eggs make direct purchases and then resell. The 
jobbers are more often eg^ collectors than is the case in this country. 
Various lirms in London. Copenhagen, Berlin, and Vienna are not 
only jobbers in their own cities, but maintain branches under their 
own control throughout the producing sections of Europe. Some of 
these concerns have 30 or more branches distributed over four or rive 
countries. 
The methods of making payment for eggs at wholesale are nearly 
the same as in the United States. Eggs to commission men are 
shipped open, or the shipper draws a draft on the commission man 
for a partial value of the shipment. There is often a close relation- 
ship between the banks and the trade, especially in central and 
southern Europe. Sometimes the banks are directly interested in 
the firms, and all transactions are done through these banks. 
