392 RURAL MICHIGAN 



a cooperative agreement has been entered into be- 

 tween the State anc^ the United States Department 

 of Agriculture, which together bear the necessary 

 expense. Some 2,600 reporters gather the informa- 

 tion locally, reporting either to Lansing or Wash- 

 ington. The county and township reporters mail 

 their results directly to Washington where they are 

 tabulated. The field agents report to Lansing, the 

 tabulation of which is then forwarded to Washing- 

 ton. The results, as finally ascertained by the Fed- 

 eral Crop Eeporting Board, are telegraphed to Lan- 

 sing for publication. About 200 reporters are sta- 

 tioned in the Upper Peninsula. In addition to the 

 regular force special agents report particular crops 

 in which each is interested, as for beans, maple 

 products, honey bees, potatoes, live-stock, fruit, 

 prices, mills and elevators. This service for some 

 years was maintained as a bureau in the Department 

 of State but the legislature of 1921 transferred it 

 to the new State Department of Agriculture. Fur- 

 ther legislation of this session assigned a new, but 

 greatly desired, function to the township and (out- 

 side of Detroit) city supervisors, who are required 

 to collect information regarding farm products at 

 the time of making their assessment rolls in the 

 spring of each year. On blank forms prepared by 

 the Commissioner of Agriculture, the supervisors 

 henceforth will obtain statistics showing the total 

 number of acres in each farm, the acreage of each 

 crop sown or planted, the acres of tillable land used 

 exclusively for pasture, the acreage of new lands 



