26 
BULLETIN 776, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
It is believed that so much of the 200,000 cases remaining 
on February 1 as were placed on the market sold at about 
that price. Table 29 shows the value of the monthly decreases 
in holdings based on the New York market prices. 
Table 29. — Selling price of "refrigerator firsts" case eggs delivered from 
cold storage during season 1917-191S if sold at New York market 
prices. 
Date. 
Percent- 
Price 
age of 
Moved out 
per 
Selling 
total 
of storage. 
dozen. 
price. 
holdings. 
Per cent. 
Dozens. 
Cents. 
Dollars. 
8.4 
16,638,832 
36.8 
6,123,090 
8.4 
16,638,832 
38.7 
6,439,228 
16.4 
32,485,337 
36.1 
11,727,207 
11.8 
23,373,597 
34.1 
7,970,397 
13.2 
26,146,736 
33.3 
8,706,863 
12.6 
24,958,248 
34.9 
8,710,429 
12.1 
23,967,841 
39.1 
9,371,426 
15.0 
29,712,199 
44.0 
13,073,368 
2.1 
4,159,708 
48.0 
1,996,660 
100.0 
198,081,330 
37.4 
874.118,668 
August 
September 
October 
November 1-15. . 
November 16-30. 
December 1-15. . 
December ^6-30. 
January 
February 
Total. 
The average selling price thus obtained was 37.4 cents per 
dozen and the total sales value $74,118,668. This shows a 
gross profit of 1.8 cents per dozen or $3,558,136. If allow- 
ance of 4 cents per dozen is made as covering storage, insur- 
ance and shrinkage for the season, (the figure commonly 
accepted in the trade), there would appear to have been a net 
loss of 2.2 cents per dozen or $4,365,117, aside from the inter- 
est on the investment. 
The holdings of the season 1916-1917 proved a very profit- 
able investment. The 6,060,129 cases held that season were 
stored at an average price of 23.44 cents, a total cost of $42,- 
610,154, and sold at an average price of 32.98 cents, or $59,- 
956,025, a gross profit of 9.54 cents or $17,345,871. The actual 
profit after deducting 4 cents a dozen for storage, insurance 
and shrinkage, amounted to 5.54 cents a dozen or $10,073,716, 
from which must be deducted the interest on the investment 
to secure the net profit. 
In the season of 1915-1916, 6,084,529 cases were placed in 
cold storage at an average price of 20.82 cents or a total cost 
of $38,003,968. They were sold at 23.41 cents or $42,740,045 
with an apparent profit of 2.59 cents per dozen, but an actual 
net loss of 1.41 cents or $2,565,358 and interest, if an allow- 
ance of 4 cents per dozen be made for storage, insurance and 
shrinkage. Figure 8 shows the average weekly prices on the 
New York Market for the last three seasons and figure 9 shows 
the comparative prices of "refrigerator firsts" and "fresh 
firsts" for the time of distribution of the 1917-1918 storage 
stocks. 
Figure 10 shows the comparative New York and Chicago 
"storage firsts" and prices for "refrigerator firsts" during the 
1917-1918 season. The Chicago prices are taken from the 
Daily Trade Bulletin. 
