CATERING TO THE MARKET. 
crease of this amount by 10 or 15c each hen 
means an immense gain to the farmers of 
America. 
Some markets prefer white eggs, notably 
New York City and cities and towns medi¬ 
ately adjacent. Boston notably prefers brown 
eggs and pays a substantial premium for them, 
and, taking the country over, the preference is 
for brown eggs by a large majority, where any 
preference is expressed. The proprietors of 
Lakewood farm in New Jersey, told us a few 
weeks ago that even in New Y'ork City and the 
city of Newark, there were many families who 
preferred brown eggs, and Lakewood Farm 
keeps a large number of White Wyandottes to 
furnish those preferred brown eggs. Where 
there is a preference, and whichever the prefer¬ 
ence is, one should keep a variety which lays 
the eggs of the preferred color. On egg farms 
where white eggs are the specialty, the Single 
Comb White Leghorn is the variety most in 
evidence. If, however, one has customers 
which will pay a special premium for size of 
the egg (as well as the white color), Black Minor- 
cas would be the variety preferred; Minorca 
eggs are of extra large size and of the much 
desired clean-white color. 
For brown eggs the Asiatic varieties rank 
first, but the American varieties are a remark¬ 
ably close second; and some strains of Ply¬ 
mouth Hocks and Wyandottes lay good-sized, 
dark brown eggs, which are quite as good in 
both size and color as the average of Asiatics. 
In this particular selection and careful breeding 
is of great assistance. If one selects dark 
brown eggs and eggs of marked good size to 
hatch his chickens from year after year, he will 
soon establish both size and color in his strain, 
and thereafter the pre-eminence is easily main¬ 
tained. 
Eggs must be clean to command the best 
price, or to sell to a select family trade; to have 
the eggs clean it is necessary the nest be clean, 
and that the eggs be regularly and promptly 
collected and systematically cared for. So 
little heed is paid to this point, that we see 
“dirties” regularly quoted in the market re¬ 
ports. This means that hens have been allowed 
to lay in nests of their own making, perhaps at 
the base of the manure pile, perhaps under a 
bush or under the eaves of some out-house or 
building where the dripping rain water soils 
and stains them. Whatever the cause, it is 
evident that a greater number of these soiled 
and stained (“dirty”) eggs come upon the 
market, and they have to be sold for what they 
will fetch. This is unfortunate, for very many 
reasons which it is unnecessary to give space to 
here; it is sufficient for our purpose that the}' 
appreciably lower the average quality, which 
effects a lowering of the average price. We can¬ 
not too strongly urge upon our readers the im¬ 
portance of maintaining the qualities of cleanli¬ 
ness, good size and good color if they would 
produce the article which pays the best profit, 
and it is our duty to produce the best and 
market the best—then shall we get the good 
prices that pay the best. 
Building Up a Family Trade. 
A reader in eastern Massachusetts asks us for 
advice about catering to a family trade; says 
he is now getting about thirty dozen eggs a week, 
and wants to get better prices for them than he 
can get at the store. 
We think he is quite right in turning his 
attention to this, and think he will find it a 
profitable business if he will give it proper 
attention. There are several points in that 
connection, however, which he should carefully 
consider. It costs something to get family 
trade, and it costs to keep it—that is, it has got 
to be taken care of. It pays a considerably 
better price than the selling of eggs to the store, 
and that considerably better price is in itself a 
good profit, but a careful personal attention is 
the price paid for that better profit; or, to put 
it differently, the better price is the reward for 
the careful personal attention. Generally 
speaking, a family trade in strictly fresh eggs, 
delivered say twice a week, pays about ten 
cents per dozen above the price the store-keeper 
pays for eggs, and if a hen lays twelve dozen 
eggs in a year, (and she is not worth keeping 
if she does not) ten cents per dozen increase in 
price means $1.20 a year increase for each bird. 
With our friend’s one hundred birds that means 
$120 a year; and that $120 is his pay for attend¬ 
ing to the family trade. There is one point in 
this connection which he should not overlook. 
He cannot estimate the yearly capacity of his 
flock by the thirty dozen eggs a week which 
he is getting now. To take good care of family 
trade he must have eggs all the year round, 
and he must gauge his capacity by the egg 
yield in October, November and December, 
rather than by the egg yield in April and May. 
There is another point to be considered here, 
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