BUREAU OF CROP ESTIMATES. 



309 



of agricultural subjects which are important in individual States, 

 but not important in the United States as a whole; (4) to assure the 

 essential feature of comparability in the State statistics for successive 

 years by introducing the permanency of methods and routine of the 

 Federal bureau; and to assure the good will and cooperation of State 

 agencies in developing an invaluable body of State statistics of 

 agriculture; (5) to place at the service of the State in the collection 

 and study of agricultural statistics the resources, experience, and 

 statistical training of the Federal bureau; (6) to make accessible to 

 the Federal bureau the extensive classified lists maintained by the 

 various State departments, particularly of those engaged in agricul- 

 tural work; (7) to afford additional channels for the dissemination 

 of the information collected; (8) to secure pubhc confidence in the 

 reports issued, both because of their greater absolute accuracy as a 

 result of combining eff'orts, and through the discontinuance of con- 

 flicting estimates, which, however much they may both merit confi- 

 dence or by their close agreement prove their substantial accuracy, 

 cause confusion, and are viewed with suspicion by many because 

 they are not in exact agreement. This suspicion is greatest and most 

 hurtful in the case of producers, who do not appreciate the difliculties 

 of preparing crop estimates and the relative insignificance of con- 

 siderable absolute deviations. 



DIVISION OF CROP REPORTS. 



The work of the Division of Crop Reports, under the direct super- 

 vision of Mr. Edward Crane, consists of securing and maintaining a 

 list of approximately 199,384 voluntary crop reporters, to whom 

 schedules of inquiry regarding crop and live-stock conditions are 

 forwarded periodically. When these schedules are returned they 

 are tabulated and averaged. The data collected and compiled by 

 this division, supplemented by reports from the field service, con- 

 stitute the basis of the monthly and special crop reports of the bureau. 



Voluntary crop reporters. 



List. 



Townsliip 



County 



County aids (estimated) 



Field aids 



Special price , 



Live stock 



Mill and elevator . . . 



Individual farm 



Special cotton 



Cotton special list 



Honey bee 



Potato 



Sheep 



List. 



Maple sirup 



Truck 



Apple 



Peach 



Rice 



Tobacco 



Cranberry 



Peanut 



Comparative price. 

 Broom corn 



Total'. 



1918 



2,017 



13,600 



11,000 



3, 500 



500 



900 



199,384 



1917 



1,716 



13,600 



8,238 



365 

 4,351 



796 

 1,040 



178,957 



' Does not include special lists maintained by field agents. 



Wliile the fiscal year 1917 showed an increase of 50 per cent over 

 1916 in the total number of inquiries sent out from the division, the 

 fiscal year 1918 shows a still further increase over 1917 of 56 per 

 cent, with 3,200,909 schedules forwarded. 



The number of schedules mailed out naturally increased propor- 

 tionately the amount of material to be tabulated and compiled. The 



