414 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DKrAKiWlKNT Ol' ACJRICULTURE. 



I><»l)artiiieiit I'lilliliii S'Jl! : IViirs: riodiicli.Mi listiiiiales iiiid lmi><irt!iii( 

 Cdimin'icial Districts and Varieties. Hy II. !'. Cmild, Hiuvaii of I'lnnt 

 Industry, and Fiaiik Andrews, I>.ur<>au of Cin], Hsiinialos. 



Yoarluxik Sepiirato 805: Throe Cenlnries of Tnbaccij. I'.y (leor^xe K. 

 Ilulnies. 



Statistical tables (821 in all) in Department Yeaihook for 1919. To l»c 

 reprintel in fiscal year 1921 in tive painjihlets ("separates"). 



ESTIMATES OF COMMERCIAL CROPS OF FRUIT AND POTATOES DISCONTINUED. 



Estimates of tlie i^n-odm-tioii of commercial apples, by States and 

 bv rejifions, toiretlier with comments, "svere made each month of the 

 fiscal year from fFidy to December, inclusive, bimilar reports were 

 made for peaches from July to September, inclusive, and for pears 

 from July to November, inclu'^ive. The first reports for the season 

 of 1919 were of course made prior to July 1, the first peach report 

 occurrinc: in April. These estimates and comments were used as 

 a guide by many groA^'ers and fruit orirnnizations as well as by 

 other persons connected with or interested in the fruit-growing in- 

 dustry. An official of the Eastern Eruit Growers' Association esti- 

 mated these apple reports for one season alone to be worth more than 

 a million dollars to the growers in his territory. The season of 19'2() 

 opened M'ith the poach report of April, which was made under try- 

 ing conditions and met with success. A freeze occurred in the South- 

 west about April 5. after the regular mailed schedules had been re- 

 ceived and tabulated. Eor the'States affected by this freeze, the 

 tabulated figures were useless, so a telegraphic inquiry was made at 

 once, and satisfactory estimates made for the injured regions. This 

 was the last report of the series, owing to the resignation of both the 

 fruit crop specialists. They left the service to accept other posi- 

 tions in antici):)ation of their work being discontinued at the end of 

 the fiscal vear 1920. necessitated by a reduction of the appropriation. 

 It is recommended that a fruit crop specialist be employed to take 

 the lead in reestablishing the commercial fruit crop estimates on a 

 country-wide basis. 



An attempt was made to estimate for the United States the com- 

 mercial main crop of potatoes. The bureau's statisticians in the prin- 

 cipal commercial late potato States were called to Washington in 

 Januarv. 1919, and plans were made for this work, which was to be 

 done l)y each statistician for his own 'State. Another meeting was 

 held ill Waupaca, Wis., which was attended by the bureau's agri- 

 cultural statisticians of three States, one of the fruit crop specialists 

 and the Chief of the Division of Crop Eecords. At this meeting 

 plans w^ere made for certain parts of the w^ork not covered by the 

 January conference. The commercial potato reports were issued 

 monthly from Julv to December, 1919, wath one semimonthly report 

 in September. Tlie data for each State were sent to the fruit crop 

 specialists in Washington, where a summary for the United States 

 was made, and transmitted back to the different States, w^here it was 

 published. A limited number of copies Avere circulated also from 

 the Washington office. While this work has continued in some States, 

 it is not as satisfactory as it should be, because some important 

 regions are not represented in the reports. These commercial esti- 

 mates are of great value and should be reestablished at the earliest 



