The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1909-02-18
CROP REPORTING.
How the Bureau Of Statistics Does the
Business.

How the Bureau Of Statistics Does III,
Business.
The bureau Of statistics issues eacl
month detailed reports relating 20 az
ricultural conditions throughout tn,
United States, the data upon which
they are based being obtained through
q special field service, a corps Of STATE
statistical agents and large body OF
voluntary correspondents composed OF
the following classes. County CORE
spondents, township correspondents
individual farmers and special cottor
correspondents.
The special neld service consists Of
seventeen travelling agents, each as
signed to report for separate group
OF states. These agents are especially
qualified by statistical training and
practical knowledge Of crops. They
Systematically travel over the district
assigned to them, carefully note the
development Of each crop. keep in
touch with best Informed opinion and
render written and telegraphlc reports
monthly and at such other times as
required
There are forty-fve state statistical
agents. each located IN a different
state. Each reports for his state as a
whole and maintains corps Of CORE
spondents entirely independent Of
those reporting directly to the depart
ment at Washington. These state sta
tistical correspondents report each
month directly to the state agent on
schedules furnished him. The reports
are then tabulated and weighted ac-
cording to the relative product or area
Of the given crop In each county rep
resented and are summarized by the
state agent, who co-ordinates and an.
alyzes them in the light Of his person
al knowledge and conditions and from
them prepares his reports to the de-
partment
There are approximately $500 coun-
ties Of agricultural importance in the
United States. In each the depart
ment has q principal county CORE
spondent, who maintains an organiza-
ton of several assistants. These coun-
ty correspondents are selected with
special reference to their qualifications
and constitute an efficient branch Of
the crop reporting service. They make
the county the geographical unit Of
their reports and after obtaining data
each month from their assistants and
supplementing these with information
obtained from their own observation
and knowledge report directly to the
department at Washington.
In the townships and voting pre-
cincts of the United States In which
farming operations are extensively
carried on the department has town
ship correspondents, who make the
township or precinct the geographical
Dasis Of reports, which they also send
directly to the department each month.
Finally at the end Of the growing
season a large number Of Individual
farmers and planters report on the re-
suits Of their own individual farming
operations during the year
With regard TO cotton, all the infor-
nation from the foregoing sources ii
supplemented by that furnished by
special cotton correspondents, embrac-
Ing a large number Of persons inti-
mately concerned In the cotton indus
try. and In addition inquiries In rela-
tion to acreage and yield per acre Of
cotton are addressed to the bureau Of
the census list Of cotton ginners through
the courtesy of that bureau.