Show our part in feeding the nation special information service united states department ot agriculture press representatives awaiting signal for release 01 crop report ACCURACY IS AIM IN CROP REPORTS department of agriculture gathers information on american food production STRICT SECRECY maintained forecasts reflect efforts of farmers for maximum yields and have im mediate and marked effect on various markets dependence of a large part of the world upon american farm production has focused public attention upon the crop reports of the united states department part ment of agriculture reports which the united states government ebion sors and protects from illegal use to the ultimate degree just now the crop reports are reflecting ting the efforts of american farm ers for maximum production when small crops are reported the news serves to prepare the country and en able necessary adjustments strict secrecy rules the crop reports too have an am mediate and marked effect upon the markets their great importance in this field has made necessary thorough safeguards against premature publication and unauthorized use every avenue through which information might be filtered from the locked rooms where the reports are finally prepared Is closed and remains closed until the second when as shown in the picture the signal for release la given on crop reporting day at an how set months in advance newspaper and press association representatives gather in the main building of the depart mant of agriculture each has near at hand a telephone already connected with his office and at the other end of the line Is a man equipped with a blank crop reporting form shortly before the moment beet copies of the completed crop reports are placed on table face down and each newspaper man gets his hand on one at the signal given by a high official of the department the newspaper men get to their telephones and in avery few minutes more the coveted information is being read in every large market in the united states and the next day at the latest it Is available in every community of the united states and in the larger markets of foreign countries big organization works the Tel case of the crop reports follows work in which tens of thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of persons all over the country have participated distributed over the country are 42 salaried field agents one in each state or group of small states the bureau also employs ten crop specialists one each tor cotton rice and tobacco who travel through the regions in which their special crops are grown in addition there are approximately V voluntary crop reporters including county and township reporters and producers buyers and handlers of grain and live stock tabulation of crop information tle returns from each class of reporters are tabulated and averaged as a check against the others to prevent a total for any of the so called speculative crops such as corn wheat oats barley rye and cotton from becoming known to any person prior to the time fixed in advance even the tabulators and computers who make up the totals do not know the states to which they pertain the final telegraphic reports and comments of the field agents relating to the speculative crops are kept locked in the office ofine secretary of agriculture until cron reporting day when they st i are turned over to the crop reporting board and the entire board Is im mediately locked in until the minute eliat the report Is issued guards being stationed at the doors and all telephones disconnected each member of the crop reporting board prepares his own individual and independent estimate for each crop and state these are compared discrepancies are discussed and explained and a final figure Is adopted by the board data complete the crop reporting board has before it more complete detailed and accurate data than any other crop estimating agency in the world members oattie board and all other department employees concerned with crop estimates are prohibited by law under severe penalties from speculating in any product of the soil from giving out advance information and from knowingly compiling or issuing false statistics ACCURACY OF CROP RE PORTS wherever it has been possible to secure an absolute check the crop reports of the department of agriculture have usually been found to be surprisingly accurate wheat will be added to the few crops for which an additional check will be made available through the new requirements by which all thre shermen must report to the bureau ot markets of the department the quantity of wheat thrashed and 4 the acreage from which it was produced i no open house for rats do not keep open house for rats by leaving basement doors ajar for ventilation without proper safeguards the management of a large department store in an eastern city recently had a very expensive lesson in this regard hats bad been doing damage to the extent of nearly 1000 a month but by persistent trapping were finally exterminated the building aa then made rat proof but after a time rats were again at their work of destruction st puzzled to know how the pests had gained entrance the management learned that in summer the night watchman was accustomed to eave a basement door open for ven naturally the rats entered and an other campaign of extermination had to be waged this expense could aas lly have been prevented says the bu acau of biological survey of the department of agriculture it a piece of sheet iron three feet high had been placed across the doorway and the sides of tha doorway sheeted with metal or otherwise made smooth so that rats could not gain a foothold rats cannot climb over euch barriers as they do over mesh or bossed wires PACKING FRUIT FOR MARKET good clean and attractive packages count for more than inexperienced man realizes the commercial grower knows that good clean packages and honest attractive packs count a great deal more than the inexperienced man realizes fruit coming from the pacific coast where good packages and professional packers are appreciated finds a ready sale and good prices eastern growers have learned many a lesson in fruit packing from their western brothers the western product outsells out sells that produced in the central and eastern states because of the very attractive pack of the former while the quality of certain classed of the pacific grown fruit 13 no better than eastern grown stock yet it la so carefully sorted and packed that it at once catches the eye of the fruit purchasers and adds at least 25 per cent to the selling value of western grown fruit j t 5 ta wi |