Arizona republican., 1908-03-22

| instead of having facts. the producer
 is lead to believe the crop is good or poor, as the case may be. and the con sumner suffers in consequence as well as the producer The government hay ing no interest to serve but the good of all concerned. reports conditions as they really exist and serves as a check to the interruptions speculator.
 The bureau of statistics estimates
 that. if there were no adequate gov
 ernment service. and by misleading re-
 ports. spectators should depress the
 price of cotton one cent per pound.
 the growers would lose s6O,0O0,00O or
 more: if the prices were improperly
 increased. the consumers of cotton and
 cotton products would suffer to a like extent. Like results would prevail
 with all crops depending more or less
 upon the total yield of each crop
 grown.
 Thus it will he seen that the gov ernment crop-rcporting service acts as a sort of balance wheel between pro- duccr and consumer. faVoring neither at the expense of the other.
 It is often true that the wise ones"
 try 10 ridicule the official reports. but the legitimate dealer and trader pins his faith to the government estimates and acts accordingly.
 The methods by which the bureau of statistics obtains the information upon which reports are based is not
 intricate and is fully outlined in the annual report of the bureau for the fiscal year 1906-I. a copy of which the writer will be pleased to send any one sufficiently interested to send him their name and address.
 Briefly. il may be stated as follows: First corps of fOrty-fiVe state agents is maintained. each represent ing and reporting for separate state as a whole from information supplied by list of crop reporters. personal ob- serVatIOn and correspondence: second. a county correspondent is maintained in each of the approximate 2.S0O coun- ties of agricultural importance. who. on information obtained through per soIlal observation and d list of county correspondents report upon the county as a unit: third. in each township and voting precinct in the United States in which extensive farming operations are carried on is one or more crop re- porters who report directly to the bu- reau at Washington. By this means three separate and distinct reports are prepared. and which. supplemented by the reports of a specially qualified corps of travelling agents and weighted according 10 the relative area or prod uct of the given crop in each county and state the regular monthly report is tabulated and given to the public from the Sth to the 10th of each month.
 Much more could be said in regard to tho making of reports. but the linn its of this article viii hardly allow of greater detail. Suffice il to say that the reports are tabulated and com puted with the utmost secrecy. and there is absolutely no way in which information can be obtained.
 The scope of the reports is quite large. taking in all of the grains. fruits and vegetables. in addition to cotton and live stock. Crops of ecO- homie importance. like cotton. corn. wheat. oats. barley. flax. hay and pota- tees. of course. have the important place in all reports.
 It goes without saving. that all throughout certain sections of the country must be uniform. Con- secuently. owing to different climatic conditions. a report on the acreage of the crop does not always correspond with just the time in which il is sOwn. For example. by far the bulk of the spring wheat is sown in, April and May. which would necqssitate the re- port on acreage in June But in Ari- Zona wheat is sown in the winter and nearly all harvested by June This should really have no effect on the Arizona farmers's report. for he knows how many acres of wheat were sown June 1. just as though he had made the report four months earlier. As the bulk of the spring wheat crop is har- vested in July and August report on the average yield cannot be made un- til October, although in some instances the yield could be determined some time previously.
 The same is true of most of all the other crops but one illustration would seem sufficient.
 Tn December of each year the final estimate is made on the acreage. yield and value of corn. wheat oats. barley, rye. buckwheat flaXseed. rice. pOta- toes Grishl hay and tobacco. No at tempt is made to estimate the total value of other crops than those stated above. although reports on the condi- ton during the growing season of ev- cry crop of commercial importance is made from month to month.
 The January and February reports relate entirely to the number and value cf the different classes of live stock
 As before stated. the limits of this article will not permit of further de- tail relative to the method and scope If the government crOp-repOrting ser vice. but the writer will be pleased to forward a copy of the Crop Reporter. the annual report of the bureau of statistics for the fiscal year 19G6-7 to anyone who will send him their name and address. He is also desirous of increasing his list of cor throughout the territory in the Salt River valley. and sincerely hopes q large number of farmers will send for this report and volunteer his services as crop re- porter for his locality.
 Tn conclusion. it will not be amiss to 1 quote what the standing committee on !