452 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



try products, grain, hay, and milled feeds, and seeds. In addition 

 to the telegraphic market news services, a local market reporting 

 service has been instituted in about 15 cities. In the course of this 

 work agents collect information regarding local supplies and prices of 

 farm produce on city markets, special attention being given to that 

 produced in contiguous territory. This information is published in 

 nontechnical form in local newspapers. 



The Food Products Inspection Service was instituted in the fall of 

 1917, as an emergency measure, to supply shippers with certificates 

 regarding the condition as to soundness of their fruit and vegetable 

 shipments upon arrival at large central markets. This service 

 answered such an evident need on the part of producers and shippers 

 that it was placed on a permanent basis by Congress, which inserted 

 an appropriation therefor in the act making provision for the conduct 

 of the Department of Agriculture in the fiscal year 1919. 



Investigational work formerly undertaken in order to educate pro- 

 ducers regarding the proper methods of picking, grading, packing, 

 handling, storing, and shipping fruits and vegetables has been made the 

 basis for extensive demonstrations, in order to apply at once the results 

 of previous investigations. Much attention has been devoted to the 

 proper construction of refrigerator and heater cars and storage houses, 

 and the recommendations of this Bureau regarding car construction 

 have been accepted by the Railroad Administration and other 

 agencies, which'have put them into immediate effect. 



The staff of jiractical transportation experts of the bureau has 

 been augmented, to assist shippers in obtaining cars, or to render 

 other traffic assistance made necessary by the present unprecedented 

 strain on the country's transportation facilities. All appeals for 

 assistance in solving transportation problems which reach the De- 

 partment of Agriculture are referred to this bureau for attention. 



The food survey project conducted by the bureau constitutes our 

 largest piece of emergency work not directly related to or developed 

 from activities previously instituted. Interesting and valuable inior- 

 mation has been obtained through this survey, which will be of 

 great assistance in intelligently directing the consumption of the 

 food supply of the Nation. Another large project undertaken by 

 the Bureau of Markets as a piece of emergency work was the dis- 

 tribution to farmers of the nitrate of soda ])urchased by the. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture under authority contained in the food control 

 act. 



The rules and regulations formulated for the conduct of the bureau's 

 regulatory work were designed for operation in normal periods and, 

 therefore, in some instances were not entirely suited to the changed 

 conditions brought about by the war. It has been necessary, there- 

 fore, to revise them in some respects and to make some changes in 

 the standards established for various commodities. The control of 

 the wheat crop by the United States Food Administration Grain 

 Corporation and the fixing of wheat prices made it necessary to 

 fevise the wheat standards established under the United States grain 

 standards act, and extensive hearings were held tjirou^hout the 

 country to insure due consideration of the interests of 8,11 before t^ie 

 revision was made. , , 



" 'The Bureau of Markets has been designated to perfojrm the work 

 incidental to stockyards control, recently instituted as a result of 



