282 RURAL MWllIilAN 



sively all, or nearly all, the counties. It was fre- 

 quently reported that from 85 to 95 per cent of the 

 farmers visited accepted membership. It was found, 

 also, that they based great expectations on their mem- 

 bership in this association. To meet these expecta- 

 tions the establishment of several departments of 

 work quickly ensued and, within ten months the 

 number of employees increased from three to ninety. 

 Departments of marketing, seeds, elevator exchange, 

 traffic, forestry and publicity were formed in quick 

 succession. These worked in cooperation with and 

 under the supervision of the secretary. The interest 

 of the farmer is to buy and to sell at advantage to 

 himself. In the course of the year 1920 the seed 

 department was actively procuring high-grade seed 

 for the members of the bureau. Buyers were sent 

 to the Northwest to procure northern-grown alfalfa 

 adapted to climatic conditions in'-]\Lichigan. Facili- 

 ties were afforded for the sale of high-grade Michi- 

 gan-grown seed, as for example, Eosen rye groAvn 

 on Manitou Island under a condition of isolation that 

 insured against cross-fertilization. Seed before be- 

 ing distributed to purchasers was cleaned and tested 

 to insure purity and germination. Later in the year, 

 an elevator exchange was created to establish a cen- 

 tral sales agency for such cooperative elevator asso- 

 ciations in the State as might bind themselves by 

 contract with this department. By the end of Janu- 

 ary, 1921, some fifty such associations were reported 

 to have accepted the arrangement which made Ihe 

 elevator exchange of the State Farm Bureau the 



