Improved Methods of Marketing Farm-Grown Eggs.

The loss to the farmers of this country from the careless handling of eggs is something enormous.  No great or sudden change in this state of affairs can be brought about, but a few points on how this loss may be averted will not be out of order.

Numerous efforts have recently been made in western states to prevent the sale of bad eggs by law.  Minnesota began this work by arresting several farmers and dealers.  The parties invariably pleaded guilty.  A number of other States followed the example of Minnesota in challenging the sale of rotten eggs, but few prosecutions were made.

Such laws mean well enough, but the only efficient means of enforcing them would be to have food inspectors who are trained as practical candlers.

The present usefulness of the laws is in calling the attention of the farmer to the mistake that he may be carelessly committing, and in placing over him a fear of possible disgrace in case of arrest and prosecution.

The weakness of the law is the difficulty of its enforcement because of the number of violations, and the difficulty of drawing distinct lines in regard to which eggs are to be considered unlawful.

Education of the farmer as to the situation is, of course, the surest means of preventing the loss, but the education of ten millions of farmers is easier to suggest than to execute.  The most effective plan of education would be the introduction of a method of buying eggs similar to the one in vogue in Denmark, in which every producer is paid strictly in accordance with the quality of his eggs.

With our complicated system involving five to six dealers between the producer and the consumer, such a system is well nigh impossible.  With the introduction of co-operative buying or the community system of production, paying for quality becomes entirely possible.

For enterprising farming communities, the following plans offer a cure for the evil of general store buying that take good and bad alike and causes the worthy farmer to suffer for the carelessness and dishonesty of his neighbor.

First:  The encouragement of the cash buying of produce, and, if possible, the candling of all eggs with proper deduction for loss.

Second:  The buying of eggs by co-operative creameries.  The greatest difficulty in this has been the opposition of the merchants, who through numerous ways available in a small town, may retaliate and injure the creamery patronage to an extent greater than the newly installed egg business will repay.

Third:  The agreement of the merchants to turn all egg buying over to a single produce buyer.  This has been successfully done in a few instances, but there are not many towns in which those interested will stick to such an agreement.  The worst fault with this plan is that the moment the egg buyer is given a monopoly he is tempted to lower the farmer’s prices for the purpose of increasing his own profits.