BUREAU OF MAEKETS. 535 



trip have been so promising that it has been deemed advisable to 

 keep a representative in South America and arrangements are now 

 under way for the establishment of a permanent office there. 



Brief mention also was made, in the last annual report, of the fact 

 that in May, 1919, an agricultural trade commissioner had been sent 

 to the United Kingdom to study the markets for agricultural prod- 

 ucts and to make regular reports, by letter and cable, for the infor- 

 mation of American producers and exporters. Reports of conditions 

 affecting American trade have been rendered regularly, and mucli 

 advance confidential information of importance has been received. 

 As an illustration it may be stated that the first information regard- 

 ing tiie siiipment of 8()0,000 carcasses of Australian lambs to this 

 country was received in a cablegram from our commissioner on Feb- 

 ruary 28. This was widely published and had the effect of steadying 

 the domestic market. A" special investigation was made of fruit 

 marketing which made it clearly evident that much can be done to 

 reduce present losses in transportation and handling. Prompt infor 

 mation was forwarded regarding British food and trading regula- 

 tions, and numerous important reports published in England, but 

 not heretofore received by us, were sent to the bureau. This work 

 has proved its value, and is a strong recommendation for the appoint- 

 ment of several experienced trade commissioners to be sent abroad to 

 aid in developing foreign markets for our agricultural products. 



Our experience has indicated also the desirability of building up 

 a staff of experts in Washington to obtain, summarize, and make 

 public information concerning world supply and demand for the 

 principal commodities, including production and carry-over, trend 

 of consumption, trend of trade, etc. With the development of large 

 cooperative societies of producers this information should be of vital 

 importance and in great demand within a relatively few years. 



Ileater car devised. — Enormous losses are caused annually because 

 large quantities of fruits and vegetables are frozen in transit. Last 

 winter shippers of apples in three States— Oregon, Washington, 

 and Idalio — filed claims against railroads amounting to over $3,000,- 

 000 to cover losses from freezing. To assist in reducing such losses, 

 the Bureau of Markets has distributed as widely as possible infor- 

 mation relative to the proper methods of loading and heating both 

 refrigerator and ordinary box cars. Recently, as a result of in- 

 vestigations, we have practically completed the desi<?n for heating 

 equipment for use in connection with the United States stiindard 

 refrigerator car, the specifications for which were drawn up in this 

 bureau. Experiments have shown that a refrigerator car, equipped 

 with this iieating system, will protect fruits and vegetables from 

 freezing, even at a temperature of 40 degrees below zero. Service 

 tests, to adapt this heating system to practical every-day conditions, 

 will be carried on during the coming winter. 



^-standardization of icool. — Various statements issued in the past 

 have emphasized the importance of standardization work, which is 

 basic to improvement in marketing. In the other sections of this 

 report mention may be found of the work which has been done in con- 

 nection with the standardization of such commodities as rice and 

 other grains, fruits and vegetables, hay and live stock. The wool 

 standardization work l)eing our most important recent undertaking 

 in this line .should be emphasized at this point. 



