Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1917-09-20
[sKED 70 INVESTIGATE
GRADE WHEAT DockAGE
=. Farm Markets Bureau Says Sys-
~" ,em benefits Buyers and Asks
Growers to Report.

The following lhioi nia'ioh nos, -. 'ho
ain been received from the Federal
anartment of Agriculture, relative to
assessment of discounts against
heat:
an has been brought to the attention
the United States Department of
,r;enlture from several sources that,
eertain parts of the country, where
h wears crop of wheat is now being
ovcd. the country grain dealers are
ssessing the farmers a discount against
n wheat purchased, contending that
eb assessment is mandatory by reason
4 the official grain standards of the
n;ted States for wheat under the
nited States grain standards Act.
pnarently the contention on the part
/ the country grain dealers is based
non the item "dockage' contained in
h official standards. From informa-
ION received by the department it APP
ears, however, that the discount is
etualy an arbitrary assessment in the
Interest of the buyers, and is neither
the basis of the official standards
|pr required or contemplated by the Act
hhe regulations Hereunder.
''The primary purpose in the estab
shment of the official grain standardv
the United States was to provide a
asis whereby parties to transactions
INVOLVING the purchase and sale of grain
hipped or delivered for shipment in in
erstate or foreign commerce might,
through being able to obtain correct
IMPLICATION of such standards, arrive at
he actual value and make settlement
accordingly. The standards for wheat
10 not provide for any arbitrary assess
hent for dockage They do provide for
|he determination of the amount of
|and, dirt, weed, weed stems and certain
bther matter, called dockage, which ac-
|ually may be present in lot of wheat,
lhe amount of which, if in excess of
bne,half of one percent by weight is to
be stated in terms of the actual percen-
2age as part of the grade designation
Df the wheat. This is called the dock
bge system of grading and has been in
hse for many years in the northwestern
States prior to the adoption of the
bffical standards.
.The transac tions in question appear
10 be purely local, not involving inter
state commerce, and are perhaps con-
lueted in a way not within the prohi-
EbitiOns Of the Act. Nevertheless, the
Department of Agriculture is investigat-
Eng the matter and will be glad to have
Eany facts which may be of value. 1t
Fill do everything in its power to bring
about the discontinuance of misrepre-
Esentation based on the Act or the
Standards hereunder.
The following warning has been given
TO wheat growers:
Wheat is attracting, at the present
Rtme, greater attention than perhaps
Eever before, owing to its comparative
Rscarcity, and high price and the neces
ENty of sowing a large acreage this
'fali :, says the department statement
As might, be expected, therefore,
|sarlous persons are offering to the pub
4 nc, varieties that they describe as far
superior to the kinds now being sown.
ihsse varieties are usually given some
|eatehy name and extravagant claims are
made for them.
An example of this kind is the
Alaska, or Seven-headed wheat that was
exploited few years ago. The back
ers OF this wheat did not get very fat
with 1t, however, as the Post Office
department. issued fraud order and
.heir business came to a standstill. This
type of wheat having large, branched
mead has been offered at high prices to
'he people of this country many times
under one name or another. Records
tohcernlng it go back more than hun
ared years. Just how another exploita-
l,Gn Is threatening under the name of
Titanic =. This type of wheat with
oranehed heads should be left strictly
alone by the farmers.
6adical claims of high yields are
made for some varieties of wheat. 1t
not uncommon in advertising a new
'snety for an INSCRIPTIONS or uninform
=. ed promoter to claim yields four of five
sinies that of the average yield of the
.ouhtry. Claims as high as Is or more
;''aes the average yield have been made
special cases. Such claims are alb
I"a and no one need be misled by them
Rell.bred variety in the section to
meh IT is adapted may yield a few
Vusneis more than the varieties being
ommonly grown. Very seldom, indeed
'an doubling of the yield be expected
buying seed grown at great dis
., ,ahee from home is another things thai
meat meat growers should be on their guarc
@%Saiast. %.na No wheat grown and bred fol
anIornia conditions, for instance, NJ
na'ter how good for California, hai
os e" FOUND adapted to the country cas-
the Rockies. California adapte,
meats do not succeed east of that state
~ th''ner would the wheats adapted t.
rnn @ Atlantic Coast or the Mississippi
baney succeed in California In short
,Sne-grown ~ seed should be used unles
d.: state agricultural eNperimen
mn sa.ion or the United States Depart
WI vii OF Agriculture advises other
HARVEY ALFRED.
state Director of Farm Markets