574 Value of Crop Estimates to the Farmer, [oct., 



reviewing conditions in the great producing countries, he 

 would have to draw r comparisons between them, con- 

 sult books and statistics for past years, and finally 

 he would be able to summarise his observations and com- 

 parisons into a conclusion : "the condition of the growing 

 crops of the world is, on the whole, favourable (or unfavour- 

 able) and the supply will probably be so much per cent, 

 higher (or lower) than last year." 



He will then be on a footing of equality with the merchant, 

 and the price at which he will sell his crops will differ but 

 little from that ultimately prevailing in the principal market 

 centres of the world. 



4. Means of Information now at the Disposal of the Farmer. 

 — But it is at present an impossibility for the farmer, alone 

 and unaided, to obtain such a knowledge of world conditions, 

 and he must rely on the information supplied by the Press 

 for his knowledge of the status of the supply in the principal 

 producing countries. 



It is true, indeed, that some Governments publish the 

 figures of their own supply, but the majority do not, or else 

 publish them too late to be of practical value, and there is 

 at present no official summary of the world's supply which 

 the producer can consult. Consequently, private interests 

 step in, and, at their own expense, obtain, or attempt to 

 obtain, this information, to be used, of course, in a large 

 measure, to their own private advantage. 



There is no lack of information from such sources, pub- 

 lished in the daily Press, in agricultural bulletins, &c, but 

 this information is often expressed in vague terms, its sources 

 are unauthenticated, and it is not unfrequently contradictory . 

 Such information is of little value to the producer, as it gener- 

 ally consists in broad statements, such as that the harvest in 

 some distant country " promises well," or " prospects are 

 poor," or "the crops have been injured by hail," or "favoured 

 by good weather"; ali statements which lend themselves to 

 different interpretations, and which are often quickly followed 

 by others of a contradictory or qualifying nature. 



5. The International Institute of Agriculture as a World 

 Observatory of Crop Conditions. — It is the purpose of the 



