418 ANNUAL BIOPURTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



ance by this bureau, monthly, of county and district estimates for 

 important products, which would be unsatisfactory without such an 

 annual check. 



It is hoped that such a law will be speedily enacted in every State. 

 The benefits of such full and dependable data concerning the State 

 and each county annually are very great to agricultural producers, 

 and to all business interests affected by farm output and purchasing 

 power. 



The Weekly Crop Notes issued by the agricultural statisticians for 

 each State, and summarized in the bureau by crops and States, show- 

 ing in general terms the crop changes in the interval between the 

 monthly Government reports, have become increasingly valuable. 

 These should be given wider publicity to keep the public informed 

 of actual changes taking place, thus acting as a check on misleading 

 crop statements put out in the interval between the regular monthly 

 reports and assisting in stabilizing market prices. 



In the internal work of the field offices much progress was made 

 in unifying methods of summarizing and interpreting the great vol- 

 ume of statistical data that forms the basis of the current estimates 

 and the background for necessary comparisons with past years, with- 

 out which, current figures, however accurate, are of little practical 

 value. In the different States the problems of securing a maximum 

 of practical uniformity without suppressing the personal initiative of 

 the agricultural statistician is made extremely difficult by the great 

 diversity of the crops principally grown, the methods of handling 

 and disposing of them, the farm practices, the dates of harvesting, 

 the tendencies of reporters toward bias, etc., as well as in the amount 

 and character of data available. Another important step in raising 

 the efficiency of the field service has been the standardizing of the 

 field office filing systems, basic records, and office sj^stems. The proc- 

 ess of so unifying the office arrangements is about 70 per cent com- 

 l)lete and the results have amply justified the time and expense in- 

 volved. With few exceptions the agricultural statisticians are men 

 whose training has been along lines other than office procedure. Not- 

 withstanding this fact most of them now maintain their files and 

 records according to a carefully devised plan, which makes it pos- 

 sible for any officer of the bureau when inspecting a field office or 

 for any statistician upon transfer to a new territory to have instantly 

 at his command the essential records of the office. 



So far as feasible under the present handicap of reduced appro- 

 priations, data are being worked up on a county basis, and in many 

 States, especially those in which cooperation with State agencies 

 provides additional facilities and funds, county as Avell as State re- 

 ports are being issued for important crops, thus adding immensely 

 to the value of the service. 



Consideral)le development has occurred this year in the prepara- 

 tion by the field statisticians of special articles, charts, maps, and 

 exhibits of various kinds showing the outstanding features of the 

 crop conditions, prospective yields, supply, stocks, prices, etc. The 

 advantages of this form of presentation of agricultural statistics and 

 estimates are, that while important facts embodied in an article or 

 table may not be generally read or properly understood, even by 

 those deeply interested in a'financial way, such facts can be presented 



