142 
ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 
time the vent will be bluish white just inside the rim. 
The shanks will be flat, white and thin looking. The 
toe nails will be short and the feathers ragged and worn. 
The high producing hens in the flock will have a small 
head, prominent eyes, thin eye lids, large body capacity, 
thin skin, and soft pliable abdomen. The pelvic bones 
also bend easily and are thin and straight. The yellow 
pigment disappears from the shanks after the hens have 
been laying from four to six months. 
Fig. 111. —Poultry marketing. Note the feeding troughs at the sides of the 
crates. 
Marketing Poultry Products.—In producing market 
eggs, infertile eggs keep best and generally bring better 
prices on the market. These eggs may be collected daily, 
graded, and packed in one dozen cartons or egg cases and 
sold directly to the consumer, retail merchants, hotels, 
wholesale houses, or commission houses. Where the pro¬ 
duction is small it will pay best to secure a few good cus¬ 
tomers and sell to them directly. 
In selling broilers, friers, and roasters it is best to raise 
