48 
BULLETIN 1385, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
between the trade quotations in different countries. The English 
unit of pounds for 10 dozen has been used as the basis of compu- 
tation. 
Table 5. — Corresponding trade weights of American and European eggs 
United States 
England 
Continental Europe 
1 dozen 
30 dozen 
10 dozen 
1,000 eggs 
1,200 eggs 
1,440 eggs 
m 
Net 
Ounces 
pounds 
pounds 
Net kg. 
Net kg. 
Net kg. 
19.2 
36 
12 
45 
54 
65 
20.8 
39 
13 
49 
59 
71 
22. 1 
42 
14 
53 
64 
76 
24.0 
45 
15 
57 
68 
82 
2Sl 6 
48 
16 
<K) 
7:5 
87 
27. 2 
51 
17 
64 
1 1 
93 
28.8 
54 
18 
68 
82 
98 
30.4 
57 
19 
72 
86 
103 
ADVANTAGES OF THE EUROPEAN EXPORT CASE 
For European conditions of transport and climate the long, 
strongly made case has certain advantages as compared with the 
30-dozen veneer case which is standard in the United States. The 
cost of case and material per dozen at the present rate of exchange 
figures out about 25 per cent of the corresponding cost of cases and 
fillers in the United States. When properly packed the eggs are 
bound so tightly in the cases that there is very little breakage. The 
weight of the case requires that two men carry it, and they are there- 
fore handled more carefully. Because the eggs are packed side by 
side with rows touching each other the space occupied per dozen is 
slightly less than the space occupied by the American case. This 
difference is only 4V> per cent. As cases are made of sawed lumber 
firmly nailed, ropes can be put around them and they can be lifted 
by a derrick from cars or wagons into the holds of ships, or they 
can be piled to the roof in freight cars. 
DISADVANTAGES OF THE EUROPEAN CASE 
The disadvantages of the European case are mainly those of han- 
dling, storage, and the number of eggs that they contain. The 
European e^<x dealers advance the theory that the European case 
contains too many eggs to enable it to be sold to many retail dealers 
without overstocking them. To this end, therefore, eggs are being 
packed in half cases, having the same length and breadth but con- 
taining only two layers of eggs instead of four, thus a quarter case 
contains 30 instead of 60 dozen. 
Such a quarter case occupies over two and one-half times the floor 
space of an American case in a retail shop, where space is usually 
at a premium. As the eggs are packed in straw or excelsior it is 
less easy for the retailer to expose them in the original package. 
With the American style of case it is necessary merely to lift the lid, 
remove an excelsior pad. and the eggs are exposed for sale. Be- 
cause of their retail advantages, several of the larger European 
dealers are interested in the use of the American case for shipment 
in their own countries or to places where no ocean voyage is included 
in the transportation. Because of their high cost in the United 
