Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1901-09-13
sTAtlsTlcAL ARMy's WORK.
Methods of Government in Collecting
CrOD News.

Crop News.
Each monthly crop report issued by
the Department of Agriculture repre-
SCENTS the cooperation of an army of
z'V'Uoos men, scattered through all the
farming communities of the United
States. This is largely IL volunteer army.
Only few of the field officers receive pay.
the a and file serving for the love
of the cause and for the sake of having
their names on the mailing list of the
Agricultural Department for its publica-
tons. The correspondents who gather
information as to the state OF the crops
throughout the United States are divid-
ed into three classes. There are in the
entire country 2,75O counties of ngricul-
tural Importance. In each the depart
ment has a county correspondent. These
are the. noncommissioned officers of the
statistical army, and are selected with
great care and with special reference
to their qualifications. Each county cor
respondent has three assistants, who
cover specified districts in the county.
1t is the duty of each assistant to ac-
quaint himself with the acreage under
cultivation and the condition of crops in
his territory. lie makes monthly re-
turns to the county correspondent on
blank forms. The county correspondent
consolidates these returns, which he sup
PIGMENTS with the results of his own OBJ
.servation, and forwards his report to the
statistician in Washington.
The second corps of the army is made
up of township correspondents, of whom
there are from six to fifteen in each
county, the number depending on the size
of the county and its Importance in pro-
duction. Each township correspondent
reports direct to the statistician. In adj
dltion to these two corps, the department
has in each State IL salaricd statistical
general, whose duty it is to report on
agricultural conditions for his State.
Each of these agents has a special list
of correspondents throughout the State.
numbering as many as GOO in the larger
States. The State agent receives re-
ports from his correspondents, which are
supplemented by his own observations
and are summarized and forwarded to
Washington so as to reach the depart
mcnt on The seventh of each month.
From States west of the Mississippi
these reports of State agents are tele-
grapl.ed in cipher.
Outside of this great body of CORE
spondents the department has several
travelling field agents, who systematical-
ly traverse the agricultural regions, pro-
curing all possible data. These men give
particular attention to regions in which
abnormal conditions prevail and from
which it is desired to have especially ac-
curate information. Since the severe
drought set in in the corn belt of the Mid
110 lxyrc &1,rt ,-sN, 11. l-... .,,...
by these special agents, who have taken
every possible means to secure exact in
formation. The statistician, moreover.
has been in direct correspondence with
many of the larger individual growers of
corn, who have reported concerning the
conditions on their own farms.
Reports are thus received from five
distinct sources and the returns as fast
as received ut the department are tabu-
lated by expert clerks. AS advance in
formation as to crop conditions would be
used by spectators, great care is taken
to prevent such facts leaking out, and no
single clerk can tell from the returns
that he handles what the general conii-
tion of the crop may be in any consider
able territory. Finally, on the 10th OF
each month the fragmcntary returns are
turned in TO the statistician, who COM
piles the monthly report, which is given
out ut i o'clock in the afternoon of that
day.
The crop report shows the acreage.
compared with last year, and the aver
age condition on the first of the month
for which the report is made. Both of
these are expressed in percentages. I'm
der the head of acreage the area planted
the previous year is taken as the basis
of comparison, and il the area In any
State is the same this year rs last it Is
represented by 100 per cent; il it is more
the figure is above 100; if it is less the
figure is below 100. In reporting condi-
tions 100 per cent represents what would
be Il good crop under normally favorable
conditions. AS there is generally some
unfavorable condition it is seldom that Il
condition of 100 is reported. and only at
rare intervals. when all the conditions
have been abnormally favorable in some
locality, is the average condition report
ed above 100.