408 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



This had never been done before, and thousands of reporters who 

 had left the service wore found to be still listed for receipt of de- 

 partment publications, while many who should have been listed were 

 not. 



The past year has been a record-breaker for this division in the 

 amount of work accomplished. Not since the organization of the 

 bureau in 18G2 has the Division of Crop Reports been called upon 

 for such continuity of strenuous effort as during the fiscal year just 

 closed. 



The main project of this division consists in obtaining and tabu- 

 lating information upon which the monthly Government crop report 

 is based. As these data are secured through schedules of inquiry, 

 sent to a list of voluntary crop reporters approximating 200,000 in 

 number, a fair index of the increase in work is afforded in the state- 

 ment that during the fiscal year 4,016,527 pieces of mail matter were 

 sent out by the division as against 3,200,909 in the preceding year. 

 This increase of 25 per cent in outgoing mail matter reflected a like 

 increase in the work of editing, tabulating, and computing the 

 schedules of inquiry. 



Although a large number of our voluntary crop reporters entered 

 the military service, those who remained on the farm, notwithstand- 

 ing the scarcity of farm labor and the enormous crops to be handled, 

 displayed a most commendable spirit in keeping the number of re- 

 ports up to the point where accuracy was assured in the estimates. 



In addition to the regular monthly inquiries, special investigations 

 through the voluntary crop reporters were made at the request of 

 the United States Food Administration, the Bureau of Plant In- 

 dustry, the Office of Farm Management, and the Office of Fertilizer 

 Control. 



The monthly investigation as to live-stock changes on farms, to 

 ascertain the number of various classes of animals on farms on the 

 1st of each month, and the changes taking place during the month 

 through birth, purchase, slaughter, loss from disease and shipment, is 

 a project deserving of greater development than was possible with 

 the limited clerical assistance available; however, the division suc- 

 ceeded in doubling the number of live-stock reporters. 



The various mailing lists of A'oluntary reporters show slight in- 

 crease over last year. 



Fifty-seven county outline maps, 34 county outline United States 

 maps, and 11 State outline United States maps showing graphically 

 production of crops and live stock were prepared during the year. 



DIVISION OF CROP RECORDS: FOREIGN CROP RECORDS AND RESEARCH. 



The foreign crop records consist of a permanent file covering the 

 final or revised figures on acreage and production of all crops for 

 all years reported, and for nearly all countries as they were consti- 

 tuted before the war, and some records have been made for newly 

 organized countries in Europe. The file also contains a ready refer- 

 ence-card index, and various summary tables giving recent statistics 



and crop news. 



These records are used to furnish statistics principally on the fol- 

 lowing subjects: Prospective crops or supply, current crop condi- 

 tions, recent estimates of acreage or production, names and relative 

 importance of countries producing a surplus of a given crop, and 

 consumption of agricultural products by countries, and also for 



