American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-12-07
How the Crop Reports are Gathered by
the Agricultural Bureau.

"A statistical correspondent is selected
rom each county in the States. The
nomination is made by officers of agricul-
tural societies, by members of Congress,
or by individuals of known character for
Judgment and integrity. The qualifica-
lions required are, large facilities for OBJ
servation of growing crops, sound judg-
ment i'm agricultural matters, and prompt
ness in responding to circulars of inquiry,
both regular and special. The position is
honorary rather than remunerative, af-
fording no temptation to mercenary unfit
partment in local improvements, and such
incidental tavors, in its documentary and
other distributions, as may serve to indi-
cate just appreciation of the unsclfish
efforts of public-spirited farmers in the
Improvement of their respective neighbour
hoods These deserving appointees con-
tinue faithfully, year after year, a service
rendered more efficient by repetitions of
its performance, and report, in the first
week OF each month, with a uniformity
and promptness scarcely equaled by sala-
ried agents under compulsory require
ment of prompt correspondence. They
also respond willingly to systematic in
quiry upon special topics for investiga-
ton, as wages of farm labor, cost of
fences. statistics of Bookkeeping, and any
specially demanding a systematic collec-
ton OF facts from original sources. These
men associate with themselves several as
sistants, representing differen. ciions of
the county, thus constituting a county
board of crop statistics. The inquiries
are forwarded several weeks in advance,
and copies are placed in the hands of
these assistants, in season to make the
requisite observations, and correspond
with the principal, who is then ready to
make deliberate md trustworthy return.
The tabulated returns for October, in
VT av~0t fa inn
illustrate the range of the monthly
schedules, which vary constantly with the
season. These returns, coming in
throughout the first half of each month,
many of the more distant requiring a
period OF ten days in the transmission by
percentages footed up, and the aggregate
divided by the number of counties. Then,
as certain counties may produce Of CIV
en- crop many times the amount grown in
certain others, compound calculation is
made, involving the relative production
of the counties, by which the first crude
average is corrected and the exact value
of the entire returns expressed, 1t will
be seen that the amount of labor involved
in this work is herculean, fifty to one
hundred calculations often being required
to correct the average of single crop i'm
a single State. In addition to the tabu-
lated returns, s'remarks,'' illustrating the
VI Lie lOCdl sItudtIOD, dTC
made by each correspondent, which are
examined. condensed, some of the more
noticeable arranged for publication, and
the remainder, in spirit, if not i'll sub
stance, enter into the statistician's sum-
mary of tine monthly crop returns. The
returns are tabulated in figures. The
unit in all comparisons is 100, i. G., 100 is
the area of last year, if comparative acre
age is sought; 100 is healthy normal
condition" of growth and vitality, whicls
should insure, with a continuance of cir
equally favorable, an average
crop; and 100 is an average yield, when
the amount of production is asked for.
The inquiry is also made, after the har-
vest is fully over, tor the actual local
yield per acre in bushels # each crop.
Germany has a somewhat similar plan,
based upon percentage returned, and
the Engh h mode is simply a collec-
ton of miscellaneous reports couched in
the language of the individual reporters
similar to the systematic collections at
tempted by newspapers in this country
These crOp-repOrts are made monthly
during the growing season. For several
years seven such reports, between April
and November, have been tabulated and
published.-Chicago Tribune, Nou. III.