36 UNIV. OF X. H. AGR. EXPERIMENT STATIOX [Bulletin 221 



work is being done in co-operation with the Bureau of Agricultural 

 Economics, United States Department of Agriculture. 



The retail stores, large hotels and restaurants of the state have been 

 visited, and estimates obtained as to agricultural products, purchases 

 from farmers and products shipped in. The store records are to be sum- 

 marized into districts so that the general situation will be shown. The 

 hotels in the White Mountains, around the lake regions, near the beaches 

 and the numerous summer camps in different parts of the state will be 

 summarized separately. 



In addition carlot shipments in and out of our larger cities are being 

 tabulated and studied. As the freight records cover a period of six j-ears 

 the general situation and trend of wholesale consumption will be available. 



In this preliminary work the situation will be studied and discussed 

 as it now exists. Definite recommendations in.a,y follow after more de- 

 tailed study has been made on separate commodities. 



Apple Marketing. Survey (Purnell Fund) 



The survey of the commercial apple orchards of the state has been 

 pushed through this fall by G. F. Potter and H. A. Rollins in co-operation 

 with the other New England states and the New England Research 

 Council on Marketing and Food Supply. The results are being tabu- 

 lated, and will be pubhshed in the near future. 



RURAL ELECTRICITY 



For some years there has been an increasing demand from the American 

 farmer in all sections of the country for electric service. The power 

 utilities companies have responded or refused to respond according as 

 their judgment dictated that the rural extension would be self-sustaining 

 and mutually satisfactory. Their position is somewhat as follows: 



Rural line construction may cost from $1,000 to $2,500 per mile, 

 according to conditions. 



Rural customers frequentlj' average only 3-5 per mile of line. 



Rural consumers have, in the past, averaged too light an electrical 

 load per mile to make it a good financial investment if carried on, on 

 a large scale. 



While most extensions alreadj' made have been self-sustaining, due 

 to care in selecting the location of lines, a general electrification in agri- 

 cultural districts might not be successful without adequate investigation 

 to determine more facts on the possible uses of electricity on the farm than 

 are already at hand, and what policies would be best to follow. 



We are planning, from the experimejit, to secure answers to such ques- 

 tions as the following: 



''What amount of current can we expect farmers to use if a great 

 number of operations on the farm use electrical energy?" 



"What equipment will it be practical to advise him to install to build 

 up this load which has been proven of economic value to him? " 



"What equipment is entirely impractical for his use?" 



''At what time in the 24 hours of the day will the peak of the farmer 

 rural load be reached? " or, 



