The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1900-04-21
7-5sl.
RELEASE WEDNESDAY, March %
1900

TO build up a great ONCE like the Census
nothing to an efficient machine, employing
about three thousand men in Washington
and about fifty thousand elsewhere III the
country. is a difficult task, and entire sue
cess is out of the question. The office natur-
| ally compares itself with the stage of prepa-
ration attained at the same period ten years
several months ON it's predecessor. One OF
the problems before it is how to put in the
time thus secured in such a way as most to
In the Agricultural Division the need of
time for preliminary work is perhaps as
great as anywhere in the Gensus ON ce.
Farmers, as a class, do not keep their ac-
counts as well as manufacturers, and the
returns from farmers may occasionally In.
clude serious errors which a trained eye will
must be examined ana such CHI error s sorTsstsd
before the tables can be made up from them
with safety. If a farmer reports that his
land sown to wheat was ten acres and the
yield four thousand bushels, 1t is clear that
an average yield OF four hundred bushels TO
the acre Is incredible and must be rejected
or corrected in accordance with the proba-
biIities. Sometimes the truth can be MADE
out by an expert from comparison Win sn en.
| times correspondence must be opened to
settle the doubt. All this ranks under the
head OF verifying the az exa aa nj
each of the millions of farm schedules. TO
accomplish this IN the time n'era OWE m , ra
quired, and they must nave nafd ana last
rules to guide them. For example, they
might be told; M Her fo ors bnshels e the
acre they are suspicious and must De lalo
aside for an expert to pass upon. BUT any tI
Country. yield Of twenty bushels IN one
section might be more questionaDle G Mc
yield of forty bushels In announcer Icn tSe
fhe diyision snsst 4 u -
propaple ' on tneir face and not reg hiring
special examination. To get the limits OF
In the United states, that is, the maximum
and minimum yield and the maximum and
minimum price which may be accepted with
out veriication, is the object Of an extensive
correspondence now being carried on by
the Agricultural Division nnder the direc-
ton of MI. L. q. Powers. Chief Statistician
in. charge of that division. Three simple
schedules have been prepared and printed
on different colored paper in order that they
may be readily distinguished one from an
other. One OF them covers ordinary garden
vegetables, second covers fruits, and the
third the great staple field crops. Each
asks about the units of measure employed
and the net price realized, and the two more
important schedules, those for staple field
products and for vegetables, ask for the
highest and lowest yield OF each crop per
acre. These schedules are being mailed to
prominent farmers all over the country.
and in many instances returns have already
been received. When the returns have Deen
received and tabuIated, scheme will ie
made from them of what is to be accepsed3 as
correct in each case and what is to be ps9pssas
T Tss,y se Of the farmer
a., q n = ~ ertr.r fie q stionss II tne
tioa, is seronsiy against his meaning OF what
the schedule says, the Office will try to learn
by correspondence from the Supervisor, or
the EnumerarOr, or the farmer himseI Wnat
the real facts were.
II the farming public will continue to CO.
operate with the heartincss already dis
played, this effort will result in more
trustworthy census of farms than has ever
been taken. Farmers, as a class, are less
able to cooperate than the representative OF
aus ONCE can do more for them than it can
for centralized lines of business, which can
and do make their own investigations, and
1t will do it's best to pl esent full and accu-
rate photograph of this leading occupation.
Toe Director OF the Census urges every one
interested to aid the work.