24 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



out to the market representatives and field agents of the 

 office. This market information is also telegraphed directly to 

 interested individuals and associations who are willing to pay 

 the toll charges. 



The plan of distribution of this information is to make it 

 possible for those who desire it to receive it while it is fresh. 

 Each market representative and field agent is provided with 

 facilities for rapidly mimeographing large numbers of these 

 telegraphic reports. The Boston office, which is established to 

 serve all of New England, sends out daily several thousand 

 mimeographed copies of its reports. Copies are made avail- 

 able, both at Washington and in the various cities and field 

 stations to press associations, local papers, and other agencies 

 which can give them as wide publicity as possible. Among 

 those who receive these notices are producers, producers' asso- 

 ciations, buyers, wholesalers, jobbers, retailers, transportation 

 agents, and agricultural agents of railroads. They are also 

 supplied to agricultural colleges and schools. In addition, 

 copies are placed on bulletin boards in convenient places in 

 market centers and producing areas. 



All field agents receive duplicates of the telegrams sent to 

 Washington by the railroad superintendents, whose divisions 

 cover their field districts. They are, therefore, informed as to 

 local shipments each day, before they begin to receive the tele- 

 grams from Washington. Whatever information these field 

 agents can secure from shippers and others regarding diver- 

 sions and other questions that will be of interest and value in 

 their particular districts, is added to the general market in- 

 formation received from Washington. In many instances this 

 information has led to changes in shipments which have 

 avoided gluts and kept the various markets well supplied. 



In general, the results of this market news service have been 

 very satisfactory. Producers and producers' associations no 

 longer need to guess at conditions or maintain at a great ex- 

 pense private agents who can do no more than give the same or 

 part of the same information which is being published by the 

 Office of Markets and Rural Organization. If conditions in 

 the market change while the commodity is en route, the shipper 

 usually may be informed of the change through this service in 

 time to divert his car to a market which the same report shows 



