Page:The Golden Hamster Manual.djvu/60

 An Ideal semester propagation animal for high school observation and laboratory study—a reproductive wonder.

College and university laboratory animals for courses in zoology, general bacteriology, comparatlve anatomy, embryology, animal ecology, dissection and microscopic anatomy of vertebrates, etc. The prenatal period, averaging 15 days, 21½ hrs., and the pre-sight period approximating 15 days, represent a numerical equation or balance unknown elsewhere in the animal kingdom. 31 small glass containers, occupying little space, may preserve a complete cross-section daily history through the combined pre-natal and pre-sight stages. A classic specimen for systematic study of embryo, fetal mass, pre-natal bone and tissue ... born with well-developed teeth.

Post-graduate and medical: Unusual adaptability in virus research and analysis, pathology, veterinarian studies, serology, parasitology, metabolism, histology, etc.

For additional data on educational uses, see illustrated folder, “School Hamsters.”

Laboratories need thousands, and this need is currently met, the larger deliveries made by larger commercial hamsteries out of their own production. Competition among larger hamasteries for both laboratory and breeding stock sales is keen. The advertising that “laboratories need thousands” is a half-truth, misleading to the novice, and may lead many to unwisely over-buy when obtaining their initial breeding stock. It is not advisable for anyone to expand production into commercial volume without first making satisfactory arrangements for marketing such volume of production. It may be observed that to get profitable sales for small stock one must go after those sales. Fair and successful marketing methods are fully presented in Part IX.

“We buy back” is another sales getter in advertising. If interested in such deal, it may pay to first investigate as to what age, weight, kind, when and how many they buy back and at what prices, and who pays transportation charges. A cheek-up may disclose that many laboratory animal brokers average to pay about one-half laboratory market price on hamsters, and that breeding stock brokers pay about one-half to two-thirds laboratory market price. Having mistaken ideas about selling back, one may easily overinvest in purchase of his foundation stock from some operators.

Here is the line one sucker-stringer throws: “Make big money by buying your breeding stock from us. We bay back. Start with at least 12, 24 if possible, so you may make larger shipments.” It hurts less to wait a while and swallow such bait in small pieces, ordering only a pair or trio to see how one is treated. Any outfit may readily obtain suffic1nt nice-sounding testimonials from one per cent of its customers, and skin 99 percent. Therefore, the honest like to be checked-up on to reveal their true reputations. It sort of