Weight of Egg Parcels
Average hens’ eggs will weigh about 11⁄2 pounds to the dozen, or 2 ounces apiece. The weight of a single dozen of eggs in a carton properly packed and wrapped for mailing will run from 2 to 3 pounds, depending on the nature of the particular container, the size of the eggs, and the packing and wrapping used. If the container be a very light one and the eggs small, the parcel may fall within the 2-pound limit, and the postage, therefore, within the first and second zones, or 150-mile limit, would be six cents. Most parcels containing a dozen eggs will exceed 2 pounds but will not reach 3; therefore the postage on them will be 7 cents within the first and second zones. A parcel containing 2 dozen eggs will add perhaps 2 cents to the postage, though sometimes only 1 cent, depending on the nature of the container and the packing and wrapping.
It should be observed that the larger the parcel (within the size and weight limits) the cheaper is the postage, as the first pound of every package costs 5 cents within the first and second zones, while each additional pound, up to 50, costs but 1 cent; so that while a 1-pound parcel would cost 5 cents postage, a 2-pound parcel would cost only 6 cents, or 3 cents a pound. A 20-pound parcel would cost 24 cents, or 11⁄5 cents per pound, and a 50-pound parcel would cost 54 cents, or but 12⁄25 cents per pound.
Shipping Eggs for Hatching Purposes
Fig. 5.—This illustration shows 20-pound parcel-post scales, which will be found quite convenient for many household purposes requiring a small scale.
Shipping eggs intended for hatching purposes in the style of containers illustrated in this bulletin has been found satisfactory to a great many poultry breeders. Those who do not favor this way of packing can use the method ordinarily employed when eggs are to be shipped by express, which is covered by the following postal regulation:
Eggs for hatching shall be accepted for mailing, regardless of distance, when each egg is wrapped separately and surrounded with excelsior, wood-wool, or other suitable material and packed in a basket, preferably with a handle, or other suitable container, lined with paper, fiber-board or corrugated pasteboard, in such a way that nothing can escape from the package. Such parcels shall be labeled “Eggs for hatching.” “Keep from heat and cold.” “Please handle with care,” or other suitable words, and shall be handled outside of mail sacks.
The person receiving eggs for hatching should place them on the small end in bran or similar substance for 24 hours, in order that the germs may settle thoroughly before incubation is started.