158 ANNUAL, EEPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



trade in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago, and 

 the livestock markets in Chicago, St. Paul, Kansas City, East St. 

 Louis, Omaha, and St. Joseph. 



The market reporting service and the methods of operating it 

 have been practically standardized, hence there is little in the way of 

 new accomplishments to report each year, except when extension is 

 made to other markets. Every effort has been made, however, to 

 refine and improve the service and to utilize the most modern 

 methods of news dissemination as they are devised. 



HOW LIVESTOCK REPORTERS FOLLOW MARKETS. 



A brief description of the day's routine in one of the division's 

 branch offices at a livestock market will outline clearly the kind of 

 service rendered by the bureau in reporting the livestock markets. 

 A day's work at the Chicago office, located in the midst of the 

 world's largest livestock market, is representative, in a general way, 

 of the service rendered at all the offices. 



At 4 a. m. the employee who prepares the estimates of the number 

 of livestock to be received for the da5''s trading reports for duty 

 and calls by telephone the various railroads entering Chicago for 

 detailed report of livestock by cars expected to arrive during the 

 da3^ By 6 a. m. his reports are assembled, the results tabulated, 

 and the estimate of the number of each species due to arrive is 

 ready for release. These estimates are posted on bulletin boards in 

 the exchange building and throughout the yards, filed with com- 

 mercial telegraph companies, and transmitted over the bureau's 

 leased wires to all the branch offices, and sent out to a number 

 of agencies. 



At 8 a. m. the meat market reporter telephones the wholesale 

 markets and branch houses for information regarding meat sup- 

 plies, trade conditions, market trends, and detailed prices. This 

 information is assembled in a report which is forwarded at 9 a. m. 

 by leased wire to the other bi-anch offices. The reporter then pro- 

 ceeds to the wholesale and branch houses, where he observes trading 

 and gathers first-hand information to use in preparing his detailed 

 report of wholesale meat-trade conditions and prices. This report, 

 together with the reports which have been received by leased wire 

 from the branch offices in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia 

 relative to trade conditions in those cities, is mimeographed and 

 released to a mailing list of those who are especially interested. 



By 8.30 a. m. those reporting the hog market have made their 

 early rounds through the hog yards, observing trading, and are ready 

 to send out the first market flash over, the commercial and leased 

 wires, giving the opening hog market. At 9 a. m. the cattle and 

 sheep market reporters start on their rounds through the yards. 

 At 9.15 a. m. the second hog flash giving development of the market 

 to that hour is sent over the leased wires and is followed by the 

 cattle and sheep flashes at 10 a. m. By 10.30 a. m. the reporters 

 are ready to release a complete report with prices on all classes and 

 grades of livestock. This report is transmitted by wire to all the 

 offices. It pictures as nearly as possible what has transpired in the 

 market up to that hour. At 11 a. m. the employee responsible for 

 the preparation of the estimates releases the advanced estimates of 



