166 MISCELLANEOUS FARM SUBJECTS 



beneficial to farmers, who are benefited by them both directly and 

 indirectly. All farmers benefit by them in an indirect way, but only 

 those who read these reports and keep posted by them are benefited 

 in a direct way. 



It is well known that speculators and large dealers in farm prod- 

 ucts do not depend entirely upon Government reports for informa- 

 tion concerning crop conditions. They have traveling agents and 

 correspondents (usually local buyers) throughout the United States, 

 who keep them posted ; and the large buyer or speculator, in return, 

 gives to these local buyers or correspondents information in regard 

 to general conditions. These local buyers know the conditions of 

 crops in their vicinity better, as a rule, than the average farmer, 

 because it is their business to keep well informed. The farmer can 

 not, by refusing to report for his locality the condition of crops, pre- 

 vent buyers or speculators from knowing the condition of the crop. 

 But how about the farmer, if Government crop reports, which are 

 made up largely by and for him, should be discontinued? He may 

 know very well the condition of crops in his own locality, but he 

 must depend upon reports of others, in the newspapers or otherwise, 

 for the conditions of the entire crop. Prices in his local market are 

 influenced, as a rule, more by the condition of the whole crop than 

 by local conditions. The entire wheat crop of his county may be 

 destroyed and prices be low, if the entire crop is large, or his county 

 may have a bumper crop and prices be very high, if the entire 

 crop be short. 



Some private crop reports published in newspapers are honestly 

 prepared and more or less reliable; on the other hand, misleading 

 crop reports are frequently sent throughout the country to affect 

 prices in the interest of speculators. Does the average farmer know 

 which reports are reliable and which are sent out to mislead? The 

 Government reports are intended to enable farmers to keep them- 

 selves informed as to the general conditions. The question, then, 

 resolves itself to this: Does it benefit the farmer to keep posted? 



But even those farmers who do not keep posted are indirectly 

 benefited by the publication of Government crop reports, for these 

 reports check and lessen the injurious effects of false reports sent 

 out in the interest of speculators. As a police anil constable force 

 tends to check but not entirely prevent crime, so Government re- 

 ports check but do not entirely prevent the circulation of false and 

 injurious reports. 



The more certainty there is as to the supply of and demand for 

 a crop the less hazard or speculation there is in the 'business of dis- 

 tributing the crop, to the benefit, in the long run, of both producer 

 and consumer. 



Large manufacturing firms, agricultural implement or hard- 

 ware companies, who neither buy nor sell farm products, are much 

 interested in the prospects and conditions of crops. This knowledge 

 enables them to distribute more economically their wares, sending 

 much to sections where crops are good and farmers have the power 

 to buy, and less to sections of crop shortage, and therefore with less 



