RELIABILITY AND ADEQUACY OF FARM-PRICE DATA 7 
crops were reported on the first of the month by farmers by the 
county reporters in connection with monthly crop reports. Begin- 
ning with December, 1923, all monthly prices are for the loth of 
the month. The lst-of-the-month prices for the period prior to 
December, 1923, have been converted to an approximation of a 15-of- 
the-month price by taking the average of the prices reported on the 
first of two consecutive months. The prices of livestocks have always 
been reported on the 15th of the month. For a few products prices 
had been reported both on the 1st and 15th. Whenever possible, 
the 15th-of-the-month prices have been used. 
One would expect a greater lag upon the current prices at primary 
markets when the reporters are farmers than when they are dealers. 
A comparison of dealers' and farmers' reports on staple crops in- 
dicate that there is no great difference other than a slight lag. It 
is felt that the old and the new series of the monthly prices may be 
safely combined. Since March, 1913, all egg prices and since May, 
1913, all chicken prices are those reported on the 15th of the month. 
In several of the small States the change from crop reporters to 
country dealers and merchants marked the end of reports on prices 
of crops unimportant in those States, such as wheat in the New 
England States. 
From about August, 1920, to November, 1922, the price reports 
were handled by the field statisticians. Prior to and since that period 
the price schedules have been sent from and returned to Washington. 
In only two States — Missouri and Ohio — are price reports obtained 
from correspondents other than those who report to Washington. In 
each of these two States the results from the two inquiries are com- 
bined to obtain the prices published each month by the department. 
It is surprising how closely the results of these two separate inquiries 
in the same State check each month. 
Both the December 1 crop prices and the January 1 livestock values 
are reported by the township list of crop reporters. 
Beginning with the development of the field-aid list, the December 
1 prices of crops and the January 1 values of livestock have been ob- 
tained from both the township and field-aid lists and the separate 
results combined in obtaining the State average published. 
Beginning with 1867 the January 1 values of livestock have been 
obtained by asking the average value or price per head for all ages 
and sexes of a given kind of livestock. This method has been em- 
ployed to date in reports on swine and milk cows, but beginning with 
1894 the inquiry on horses, mules, sheep, and other cattle (as distin- 
guished from milk cows) has been made on the basis of an age classi- 
fication and, in the case of sheep, on the basis of a sex classification. 
The values as obtained for the different age groups were averaged to 
obtain the value per head of all the animals of a given kind — as 
horses. This change in the nature of the inquiry was undoubtedly 
an improvement, but the comparability of the series was somewhat 
disturbed. 
In January, 1926, the value of swine was obtained in the old way, 
that of " swine of all ages " from some of the correspondents, and from 
the rest of them on the basis of three subclasses: (1) Sows and- gilts 
bred or to be bred for spring pigs, (2) all other hogs 6 months old 
and over, including boars, and (3) pigs under 6 months old. When 
