P.D. 123 15 



of farm prices of apples during the picking and packing season when 

 many of our apple producers are selling their crops to country buyers. 

 It is hoped that facilities may be made available for this purpose. 



Plans have been made whereby a regular radio broadcasting service 

 of this report will be carried on. The mail service has been maintained 

 as usual. In the distribution of mail reports of this service, as is the 

 case with all our market reports the subscriber pays the cost of postage. 



Supplementary Reports. Our supplementary market news services, 

 covering weekly reports on the Brighton Livestock Market and Hay, 

 Straw, Grain and Feed prices, have been continued throughout the year. 



Retail Market News 



Many of our most perishable fruits and vegetables are produced during 

 a short season. They come on the market in large quantities at certain 

 times and often cause gluts and low prices. The well-informed con- 

 sumer can often save money and also get the best quality of products by 

 buying during these periods. The farmer also gains if consumption can 

 be stimulated to relieve the market situation. 



The weekly retail reports are designed to keep consumers informed of 

 market conditions. They call attention to the proper time to buy for 

 canning or storing and also suggest new ways of using certain food 

 products. 



Through the co-operation of the Massachusetts Federation of Women's 

 Clubs opportunity has been given to broadcast the retail market infor- 

 mation from radio station WNAC on Wednesday mornings. Beside the 

 thirty thousand members of the WNAC Women's Club, there are many 

 non-members, both men and women, who "listen in" on these morning 

 programs. Radio station WTAG broadcasts the Worcester retail mar- 

 ket reports. The reports in Worcester and Springfield are published in 

 newspapers of general circulation. 



The following organizations are co-operating with the Division of 

 Markets to furnish timely recipes and menus: The Massachusetts Fed- 

 eration of Women's Clubs, Department of the American Home, the Hamp- 

 den County Improvement League, and the Worcester County Extension 

 Service. 



Apple Grading Law 



A policy of increasing stringency of enforcement of the Apple Grading 

 Law, outlined a year ago, has been adhered to, particularly in respect to 

 that part of the law which requires that the faced or shown surface shall 

 give a fair representation of the contents of the package. 



Slight revisions in the law, made by the 1926 legislature, have also 

 made necessary some educational work for the purpose of explaining 

 these changes. 



In addition to the regular administrative work in connection with the 

 enforcement of the Apple Grading Law, an active part has been taken 

 in the conferences held with representatives of the other New England 

 States for the purpose of establishing uniform legislation for New Eng- 

 land. 



Crop Reports 



The Division of Markets is continuing its co-operative relations with 

 the New England Crop Reporting Service. This organization makes 

 available to farmers, dealers and to the general public, current informa- 

 tion concerning crop acreage, condition, production, and prices, the num- 

 bers and value of livestock, and the outlook for the production of farm 

 products. The work is carried on by well trained statisticians who are 

 in close contact with farmers in all parts of New England. 



During the past year the reports on livestock have been enlarged and 

 made more accurate. The reports of the Crop Reporting Service have 

 been tested for accuracy by comparison with figures of the various state 



