MARKETS AND RURAL ORGANIZATION. 403 



eration. The marketing of fruits and vegetables, especially of the 

 less perishable varieties, is to be carefully studied with a view to im- 

 proving methods and developing the foreign demand. 



A representative of the Office of Markets and Rural Organization 

 was sent to Europe late in June for a period of several months for 

 the purpose of inaugurating this work in a preliminary way. 

 He is traveling in part with the Assistant Chief of the Bureau of 

 Foreign and Domestic Commerce of the Department of Commerce, 

 and has visited points in England, France, Italy, and Switzerland, 

 and will visit other European countries before his return. A study 

 is being made of actual and normal conditions in these foreign mar- 

 kets as far as they relate to American farm products, and their cus- 

 toms, preferences, and consuming capacities. The representative, is 

 conferring with the consular offices of the State Department, with 

 the commercial attaches of the Department of Commerce, and the 

 import agents and dealers engaged in handling and marketing Amer- 

 ican farm products. 



As the work develops other phases of the problem will be investi- 

 gated. Effort will be made to coordinate the activities of foreign 

 representatives of American organizations, both public and private, 

 in investigating and reporting on foreign markets for the surplus 

 farm products of the United States. 



MISCELLANEOUS MARKETING ACTIVITIES. 



An experiment in stimulating demand and distribution was con- 

 ducted during the peach season of the fiscal year. During the months 

 of August and September, 1915, about 33,000 circular letters were 

 sent out to retailers in 46 cities of 13 northern and eastern States 

 urging them to move peaches rapidly and under the modern methods 

 outlined. Personal efforts were given to the work in New York 

 City and Pittsburgh. Local efforts to stimulate demand and con- 

 sumption were encouraged in such ways as were practicable. In- 

 quiries were made in 30 or 40 towns and cities in central and eastern 

 Pennsylvania and in southeastern Ohio to discover if there are 

 markets large enough to use carloads of peaches during the height 

 of the season that usually do not get them. It was found that almost 

 universally these markets of from 2,000 population up are thoroughly 

 worked by the jobbers from the larger cities or have local jobbers 

 or both, and that these firms ship carloads of peaches into these 

 markets whenever possible. In other words, these markets are not 

 neglected. 



Considerable cooperative work with various States has been con- 

 ducted during the year both regarding problems in marketing and 

 distribution and in rural organization. In many instances the 

 problems studied were local, but in other cases observations and re- 

 sults were capable of general application. 



As a preliminary to work in aiding various States to coordinate 

 State and Federal marketing activities, to be inaugurated as a sepa- 

 rate project in the fiscal j^ear 1917, a survey of State marketing ac- 

 tivities was made by means of a series of questionnaires, the results 

 of which were issued as Markets Document No. 3, Eesults of a Sur- 

 vey of State Marketing Activities Throughout the United States. 



