36 BULLETIN 1385, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
The dealers in London are rather emphatic, however, that the 
birds be paeked closely in the box. The tendency toward leaving 
large spaees in the eenter of the box, such as happens when broilers 
are set up against the side, is not considered desirable. Two rather 
minor objections are raised to this method of packing. One is that 
the birds require more cubic space in transit by boat, and the other 
is that they do not remain frozen as long after unloading, because 
more surface is exposed for thawing. 
In brief, therefore, a description of the requirements of American 
broilers for export would be as follows : 
The birds must be milk fed, well covered with flesh, and as light 
in color as possible. They must be well bled, carefully picked, 
heads wrapped, undrawn, properly cooled and packed tightly in 
strong, single-layer boxes. \-2 to a box. two rows of birds each, 
either squatted or legs extended. The boxes should be lined with 
parchment paper and be securely nailed. It is not necessary to 
wrap each bird, unless the poultry Will carry better in storage 
therefor. 
Considerable complaint is encountered in England because 
American frozen poultry is often spotted on the skin as a result of 
the drying out of the skin in the freezer. This rather scabby 
appearance, even though it may not seriously affect the quality, 
militates against the ready sale from wholesaler to retailer. It 
would seem as if some investigations in this country, looking toward 
the elimination of this defect, would be worth while not only for 
foreign trade but for domestic benefit as well. 
As is now customary, each box should be marked on its end with 
the number, the weight, the brand, and the kind of poultry it con- 
tains. As in the United States, the English merchants are very 
keen in remembering brands and trade-marks, and a brand once 
well received can be easily resold, ("are must be taken by American 
packers to see that their brands run uniform in quality from year 
to year, as well as from box to box in the same year. Not many 
different brands of poultry are sold in England; therefore a 
decrease in quality from one year to the next in any one brand is 
readily noted, with a consequent loss in the demand for that mark. 
COMMERCIAL HANDLING AND MARKETING OF EGGS 
Methods of handling eggs in Europe vary widely from those in 
the United States in details of packing, storing, and selling. The 
means of gathering and testing are not unlike American practices, 
although on the whole they are apparently less efficient and less 
accurate. 
GATHERING EGGS FROM PRODUCERS 
In Europe eggs are gathered from the farmers by (1) hucksters 
or, as they are termed in England, ''higglers," (2) country and 
village stores, (3) collectors who operate for dealers or cooperative 
societies, (4) village auctions, (5) direct sales from farmers to 
wholesalers, (6) farmers on public markets, or (7) delivery to pri- 
vate customers. These methods of collection are similar to those 
in the United States, with certain minor differences. 
