Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 159, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 July 1913 — HOW MONEY CAN BE MADE WITH POULTRY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HOW MONEY CAN BE MADE WITH POULTRY

(By KATHERINE ATHERTON GRIMES.) People who go to the market to buy eggs or poultry always want the best they can get. And the only way they can tell is by the looks. So if you want to get good prices for your poultry products, you must make them look nice. At this time of year your most important product will be your eggs. The boy with only a few hens will hardly be able to do any shipping on his own account, but must depend on his home market. There are, however, several ways in which he can get a little more than market prices for his eggs. One way is to arrange with your home dealer to furnish him strictly fresh eggs, graded and guaranteed, for his finest class of trade. Any grocer likes to get eggs that he knows he can recommend, and is willing to pay a good price for the same. As many town customers buy their eggs just a dozen at a time, it adds to the attractiveness and salability of your goods if they are put up in neat cartons holding Just that number. • Of course your eggs must be clean. If your hens are of several kinds, you are likely to get eggs that are not uniform in color. Sort them so as to put each color by itself. If you have never tried this plan, you have no idea how much nicer your eggs wilt look, and anything that adds to their appearance helps your price. Not long ago the following little every-day occurrence was noted In a grocery where many eggs were being brought in. A great bucketful had been offered for sale, and the clerk was busy counting them out. They were like Joseph’s coat, of “many colors,” but it is to be hoped his coat was not like them in being stained and dirty. "Anything with a shell on passes for an egg with some folks,” grumbled the disgusted clerk, as he gingerly fished out two or three specimens that Were most indisputable **old,” and laid them carefully to one side. “If these old things didn’t cofne out of a last year’s hen’s nest I’ll miss my guess.” At last he finished his counting, and returned to the Counter to settle with their owner. “Twelve cents is the best we can do on that grade of eggs,” he said. “We’re overloaded with them now.” “I thought, you were paying more than that,” protested the woman who had brought them in. “I had to lay out over two dozen

that were cracked, or otherwise unsalable,” replied the grocer. “If you had sorted your eggs I might have done better for you.” Of course she did not like it, but whose fault was it if she could not get the highest market price? A little later another lot was brought in. There were two boxes of them, in each of which were twelve cartons, holding a dozen eggs each. One box was full of white-shelled eggs, clean as pearls, uniform in size, and packed with the small end down. The other held brown-shelled eggs, some cartons being light brown, and others dark brown. The clerk smiled as he lifted them out. "Eighteen cents a dozen, and glad to get them. Orders waiting for them

right now. Jim, go and ’phone to Mr®. Grant and Mrs. East that we’ve got those eggs they want.” And that is the difference. When the grocer knows what he can depend on, he Is willing to pay for it. He does not have to hunt a market for his best eggs, any more than you do. Another good way is to sell your eggs directly to individual customers, thus making the middleman’s profit, too. There are many people who are willing to pay from five to ten cents a dozen more than the regular market price for eggs that they know will be fresh and good. A very good plan is to mark each carton with your name, the date the eggs were gathered, and the Words “quality guaranteed.” It does not take long to work up a fancy trade in this way, but of course it takes a little more time than to sell direct to the grocery.

A String of White Wyandottes.

A Dual-Purpose Hen.