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Show 1 P :'" V"v ''y,'''" "v ! SELL CT.LY THE FHlSH EG33 Some Farmers Deliberately Impose on Small Merchants by Giving Goods Known to Ee Stale. (By A. G. PHILLirS, Kansas.) Selling eggs is one of the handiest tvays for the farmer to set a cash jr trade return for his produce, during ill parts of the year, and if he can Increase the efficiency of the machinery machin-ery which produces and handles these " ' eggs he is putting into his pocket good bard cash. Almost every housewife who is compelled to buy egss constantly clamors for some method which she may pursue in order to always get fresh eggs. There is no housewife who has not some time or other had the great displeasure of handling spoiled spoil-ed or rotten eggs. This almost constant con-stant occurrence, ' with the possible exception of the winter months, practically prac-tically compels those who lecture and carry on experiment station work to plead with the farmers who produce the eggs to put onto the market better bet-ter produce. The egg loss each year is enormous and is beyond all reasonable justification, justifica-tion, and the blame lies, at least in part, with the farmer for the following two reasons: First, some few farmers deliberately deliberate-ly take to market eggs which they know are not fresh, because they know Eggs Should Be Packed In Neat Cases. that the merchant is compelled to take them or lose their trade. Second, and by far the greatest reason, is because of ignorance on the part of the farmer farm-er as to what and how to sell eggs. When the hens on the farm are producing enough eggs to warrant the farmer taking them to town, arrangements ar-rangements should be made to handle all of them properly. A convenient and clean place should be provided wherein the hens can lay. The natural nat-ural 'tendency of a hen is to go off in the weeds and make her nest. This ahould not be tolerated and any eggs found in such places should be marked and kept at home. ; When the clean, fresh eggs are j bathered they should be put in a clean, dry, cool place until marketed. Even though the place is clean and cool. i it is not dry, molds, etc., will commence development and the eggs will soon spoil. If the eggs become damp and they happen to be in contact con-tact with any colored material they will immediately become stained. Good egg cases in a cool, dry, clean place, kept up off of the floor, make an excellent receptacle in which to keep eggs previous to marketing. Before these eggs are set aside for market, they should be gone over by the farmer as he collects them, and all small, stained, dirty, doubtful, incubator in-cubator and rotten eggs should be removed. Small and dirty eggs, if used immediately, are just as good aerr large clear ones, but they will ijti.fi'--: ell well on the market, and if sent in with good eggs will spoil the trade. Therefore, they should be kept and used at home. No egs should be washed, for the packers claim they j will not keep well. All eggs from I stolen nests, whose freshness is doubt- ful, and all incubator eggs should j cither be thrown away, boiled for the j little chicks or used at home. They .' should never be sent to market. Rot- ,". 1 ,ten eggs need not be discussed. Any person who will send one to market ' deserves all the penalty possible from 5?' the pure-food law. . t ; When eggs have been properly j gathered, handled and kept previous ,. to taking to market, the question i of .the number of trips to town suTHild. ; I be considered. In hot weather the ! sggs should be marketed two or three : times per week, and oftener if pos-'"-- v sible. If that number of trips cannot y be made, co-operate with a neighbor -! and have him alternate days in the I trips which must De maae. y In the fall and spring eggs should bo marketed at leust once a week. Many buyers have had trouble in No- vembcr with egs classed as "held eggs." These are common, becauso most farmers believe that after frost jjTgs will not rot so quickly, buf never-: never-: t.ho'.css they do evaporate and the air : noils in them show the candlcr that they are stale. Therefore, the more often epgs are ' marketed, the great or are the chances '.list they will be good. |
