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Show f poultry 1 I FACTORS GOVERNING THE PRICE OF EGGS IN SALT LAKE CITY. By C. G. Patterson, Mgr. Brook Ranch Commission Company. . Wc noted in our article which ap- pcarcd in the issue of this paper April 3d, that there were some 20,000 cases of eggs imported from abroad anUlistributcd in Salt Lake City and vicinity. These imported eggs sold throughout the winter at an average of about $8.50 per case. They were considerably cheaper than this at the beginning of the season, and towards the end of the scaso.11 the. price advanced advanc-ed to between $9 and $10.00 per case. These eggs were a very good quality-and quality-and were used almost exclusively by the hotels and restaurants and were sold to the families through the medium med-ium of the grocer. As in past years, the volume of Utah fresh eggs -was so small in comparison com-parison with the storage product that no attempt to separate the two was made by the dealers in the majority of cases. Furthermore, a considerable consider-able per cent of retailers and vendors vend-ors made a practice to advertise all the eggs they sold as fresh. These tactics naturally made the consumers suspicious of the quality of all eggs and they refused to pay any advance over the regular market price, for fear they would be taken in on the. deal. Where reputable retailers vygc able to secure the home product through individual shippers they in most cases made no distinction in the price they paid these shippers for their frcshf eggs, and the price they paidtlic wholesaler for storage eggsf So far as the conditions outlined arc concerned the dealers stand wholly whol-ly at fault. Not one item so far enumerated en-umerated is in the power of the producer pro-ducer to rectify; but there is another side over which the consumer alone has control and which he has manipulated manipu-lated so as to destroy the confidence that should exist between himself and the dealer. i Wc have found that a large per cent ' of the eggs coming into this market ' from the county arc not fresh in the true Sense of the word. There are fl plenty of shippers that arc absolutely H reliable. In most cases, this class H have quite extensive poultry farms H and thc-ciggs they ship, aside from H their own, arc collected frotn neigh- H bors. But the eggs that are gathered . B by the country store keeper from the H rank and file arc as a rule an un- V satisfactory lot. Both dealer and the " public look upon them with Suspicion. Suspic-ion. In our own experience we have known cases where eggs have been kept by farmers' wives from May to September and then taken to the storekeeper and sold as being fresh. Cases of this kind arc in no wise isolated as every dealer knows. Taking the question fronn this standpoint, wc arc forced to admit I that there is justice behind the stand taken by the dealers and the consuming consum-ing public. In our next article wc will take up the question of applying the remedy t I for the above conditions. |