26 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



It is important that this gathering should carry home to their 

 respective spheres of labor this definite thought : — Educational 

 work in regard to cooperation is necessary all along the line 

 and uniform and efficient methods and ideals must be devel- 

 oped. Courses of study should be outlined in the colleges and 

 universities suitable not only for their own curricula, but for the 

 agricultural high schools of the states and for other educational 

 institutions offering courses of agricultural instruction. Only in 

 this way can be devoloped a common body of information 

 which will result in the extension of the application of the prin- 

 ciples of cooperation and in the dissemination of necessary 

 knowledge for making cooperation successful. We do nor 

 attach as much importance to the absolute adherence to the 

 Rochdale principle of one man, one vote, as do cooperators in 

 some of the countries abroad. In many communities the truly 

 cooperative plan can be applied. In others, the attempt to apply 

 it absolutely would doom to failure efforts to bring about united 

 activities. 



To another and highly important class of activities of the 

 Office of Markets we are applying the name of Market Surveys, 

 Methods and Costs. The purpose of this work is to determine 

 the normal marketable quality of specific products wdthin 

 certain trade areas with the possibility of increasing such sup- 

 plies as well as determining the immediate prospective supply 

 at given periods or to be marketed within specified periods of 

 time. Studies of the demand for various products at consum- 

 ing centers, the mapping of areas usually drawn upon for sup- 

 ply, time when the areas ship, normal prices and prices in 

 periods of scarcity or over-supply, will be carried on. 



The interest in a market news service for perishable products 

 is so great that we propose to investigate methods of bringing 

 the information developed in market survey work promptly to 

 the attention of producers and distributors. It does not seem 

 at all likely that telegraphic market news service would be 

 feasible, but it does seem likely that certain classes of infor- 

 mation not requiring telegraphic or expensive forms of distribu- 

 tion can be obtained and be made available, especially to asso- 

 ciations of growers. Communication with individual producers 

 is almost a physical impossibility, which is another excellent 

 reason for cooperative organization. 



