34 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



after the statistician's first year he would do the work quicker than would 

 the supervisor. 



Mr. Hewitt gave a history of the legislation which provided for crop 

 reports and making of farm statistics, and asked that this society by 

 resolution begin the work of securing adoption of this new and better 

 method, and push it to completion. 



A member asked, " Where would the advantage to the producer come 

 in? He would not get the reports before January, and by that time the 

 speculator would have completed all his schemes for control of crops and 

 prices. 



Mr. Hewitt: The statistics would be supplementary to the regular 

 crop reports. We get the acreage early in the season and report upon the 

 condition and average yield month by month. The sooner the statistics 

 are gathered, the more accurate they will be. The farmers forget, as a 

 rule, the amount of all but their main crops, such as wheat. 



Mr. Mokrill: The result to the producer will be much or little, as he 

 chooses* to make it. Societies are forming everywhere to secure such 

 information, and this would be only a part of the chain embracing the 

 whole. 



Mr. C. A. Hawley of Shelby: I learn, by the papers I take, the state of 

 the crops, and base my prices for sales upon it. All such information is of 

 value to the producer if he chooses to make it so. 



Mr. Morrill: Even late statistics are often of value. I recently 

 received from the agricultural department a report of crop yields, by states, 

 last year. By it I learned that Michigan grows two bushels of potatoes 

 to one of Dakota, upon equal acreage, and gets $2 to Dakota's $1 for the 

 amount of farm produce sold. Many such other revelations as this cured 

 me of an attack of " western fever " I had. I found Michigan unsurpassed 

 as to yield and cash product, acre for acre. 



Mr. Garfield : The supervisor has not time to properly collect the farm 

 statistics, and his heart is not in the work. The statistician would not be 

 so, for collection of the statistics would be his primary duty. 



Mr. R. M. Kellogg of Ionia: Farmers have a prejudice against collec- 

 tion of statistics by the supervisor. They believe the results given will in 

 some way affect their assessment and be used for the benefit of speculators. 



Mr. Kellogg moved that it be declared to be the sense of this meeting 

 that township statisticians should be appointed to do the work of collecting 

 statistics as proposed by Mr. Hewitt. The motion was unanimously 

 carried. 



