Apple market investigations, 1914-15. 15 



or short term. There is no indication that the rates were increased ; 

 on the other hand, in western New York the storage firms reduced the 

 usual 50-cent charge to 40 cents on account of the low prices which 

 were being paid for apples. 



Until the past season accurate information regarding the quantity 

 of apples placed in cold storage and the progress of the movement 

 during the winter and spring has not been available to the public. 

 In October the Office of Markets and Rural Organization undertook 

 to secure and publish the data, so that growers and dealers alike 

 might direct the sale of their holdings in an intelligent manner. 



The cooperation of the cold storages was solicited for this purpose, 

 and a large number assisted in making the office reports valuable. 

 However, many concerns failed to answer the inquiries which were sent 

 to them at the end of each month, and many submitted only partial 

 reports, some reporting one month and failing to do so the next. 

 The holdings of such firms necessarily were eliminated from considera- 

 tion in estimating the progress of the movement, for the reason that 

 a comparison between the holdings from month to month with the 

 holdings on December 1 is necessary for determining the movement. 



The office mailing list now includes the names of 667 cold-storage 

 firms. Of these, 443, with a capacity of 8,902,013 barrels, have 

 reported their holdings one or more times during the season. The 

 balance, or 224 concerns, failed to reply at all. It was not possible, 

 therefore, to publish quantitative reports showing the total number 

 of barrels and boxes held . Still, the number of firms which responded 

 was thought to be sufficiently large to justify the issuance of per- 

 centage reports through the medium of the press. This was done 

 monthly, and a detailed report of each investigation was printed in 

 the current number of the Agricultural Outlook and mailed to the 

 cold storages, trade papers, and individual growers and dealers. 

 These investigations embraced the holdings of apples not only during 

 the season of 1914-15, but also of 1912-13. The crops of the two 

 years were similar, and it was thought that a comparison of the 

 holdings would be helpful to growers and dealers in arriving at true 

 values. 



Estimating upon the basis of the reports received, it was found that 

 the holdings on December 1, 1914, amounted approximately to 11£ 

 per cent more than those of December 1, 1912; on January 1, 1915, 

 23 per cent more than January 1, 1913; on February 1, 1915, 28.4 per 

 cent more than February 1, 1913; on March 1, 1915, 5.7 per cent less 

 than March 1, 1913; on April 1, 1915, 15.6 per cent less than April 1, 

 1913 ; on May 1, 1915, 13.2 per cent less than May 1, 1913. 



Of the total number of storages reporting, it was found that 289 

 responded December 1; 306, January 1; 280, February 1; 289, March 

 1; 270, April 1; and 258 on May 1. While the minimum number of 



