450 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Atlanta, were maintained in connection with this service. Mr. W. A. 

 Wheeler directed this work. 



By means of informal inquiries sent to voluntary reporters, grow- 

 ers, shippers, and dealers, and by personal visits, information was 

 obtained and transmitted to Washington, where much of it was 

 assembled and worked into articles or reports for publication in the 

 '' Seed Keporter." The most important reports published may be 

 classified as (1) outlook reports, including figures and descriptive 

 matter concerning acreage, yield per acre, quality and prices of field 

 seeds; (2) shipment reports, including stocks in shippers' hands, 

 carry over in growlers' hands, shipments during the last season, ship- 

 ments during the current season, etc.; (3) seed market reports, in- 

 cluding trade information supply, demand, prices, movement, etc., 

 at some of the most important seed-marketing points; and (4) vege- 

 table seed crop condition reports, from the most important seed-pro- 

 ducing sections. The publication of these reports made timely in- 

 formation available to the small grower, small shipper, and small 

 dealer which in the past has been in the possession of comparatively 

 few of the largest seedsmen and commercial seed growers. Twelve 

 issues of the ' Seed Reporter'' were published and mailed monthly 

 to approximately 23,000 growers, shippers, dealers, and other inter- 

 ested persons. 



In addition to the reports mentioned, the results of two national 

 seed surveys were published. Besides stocks, receipts, and exports of 

 field and vegetable seeds, these surveys covered sales of certain kinds 

 of field seeds and acreage .and production of vegetable seeds. Through 

 the information obtained in these surveys, it has been possible to 

 facilitate the movement of seeds from producer to consumer, and to 

 reduce inflation in seed prices. 



CITY MARKET REPORTING SERVICE. 



The City Market Reporting Service was conducted during the last 

 fiscal year with emergency funds, under the supervision of Mr. G. V. 

 Branch, in order to furnish a market news service to farmers in the 

 vicinitj^ of large markets who require information of a different char- 

 acter from that furnished to distant carlot shippers, and to keep city 

 consumers informed of market conditions in order that the consump- 

 tion of abundant products might be facilitated to the advantage of 

 both producers and consumers. Market reports of this sort were 

 issued during the year from 16 offices: Baltimore, Md. ; Boston, Mass. ; 

 Bridgeport, Conn.; Chicago, 111.; Cleveland, Ohio; Denver, Colo.; 

 Detroit, Mich. ; Hartford and New Haven, Conn. ; Philadelphia, Pa. ; 

 Providence, R. I.; St. Paul, Minn.; Springfield, Mass.; Waterbury, 

 Conn. ; Washington, D. C. ; and Worcester, Mass. The offices in St. 

 Louis, Mo., and LaAvrence, Mass., where the service had been main- 

 tained during the preceding fiscal year, were closed because it was not 

 possible to secure men j)roperly equipped to carry on the work. 



The work in the 16 cities named was continued along the lines fol- 

 lowed in the preceding year. Reports for growers were enlarged and 

 perfected and were issued each market day, about 30,000 farmers tuid 

 600 dealers being reached. The reports were distributed on the mar- 

 ket and by mail and in some cases were published in local newspapers. 



