Norwich bulletin., 1919-06-30
WILL BEGIN GOVERNMENT
 MARKET SERVICE HERE

Details of the marketing. guide for
 consumers which the bureau of mar
 hets of the United States department
 Of agriculture, in cooperation with the Connecticut Agricultural college. is planning to start in Norwich Tuesday (tomorrow), and how it is hoped to better local marketing conditions, were
 made plain in a statement given out Sunday by H. Bruce Price, local repre- sentative of the bureau. The guide will be prepared by the bureau on Tues..g days and Thursdays from data obtain cd by it and will be published in The Norwich Bulletin.
 The city market reporting service,- says the bureaus statement, will be conducted for he1benefit of consumers and growers alike. Dealers also should find the service beneficial as stabii- | lzer of the market. Within the city, however, interest will no doubt center on the possible usefulness of the ser- vice to the housewife" ... < The bureau of markets feels that | while many forces operate to bring aboit an increasing cost of living and ! while there are perhaps numerous de- l fleets in the prevailing marketing ma ] chinery, one of the important consid-, olo lot1oiaS III DOLli COltneCllOIiS lS gen. l eral lack of knowledge on the part of 1 consumers, and to large degree also ! on the part of producers. ash to just
 what is going on in the market The l market quotations usually published l are not in terms which make them ifr- derstandable to the average consumer I It will be the aim of. this service, if1so- ! far as the consumer is concerned. to
 strip away all technicalities from mar l ket reports and to present them in a
 simple, straightforward, .intelligibie | form. In addition. the quotations will l be accompanied by interesting and l helpful comments on market eonditien
 and non technical interpreta tibn of the market quotations. A useful fea- i ture of the reports will be a sciassif1ca- tion of the most important products under the headings abundant" nor map' and scarce" This should be a valuable guide to consumers who wish
 to concentrate their purchases on products that are most plentiful, iu or- I der that they may help their pocket- books. The most plentiful products are usually the cheapest. They are5 at the same time. those on which the growers are running the greatest risk of financial loss, and they are those
 on which waste is most likely to occur, due to market gluts. s' : ! Another feature which should find
 favor with the housewife is advice on l the most advantageous time to can and store vegetables and fruits, and to make preserves. jellies, etc. Many
 housewives complain each year that the periods of abundance for. certain
 products pass before they realize it
 and that they must then buy their materials for canning. etc, at relative ly high prices The city market re- porting service will attempt to keer
 housewives informed somewhat in ad. vance when the most advantageous , canning periods are approaching.
 The market guide, will cover iron 1 the first fresh fruits and vegetables Fish. eggs and probably some othel
 foods will be included later. These art : all items of a perishable~ nature, ths
 supplies and prices of which huctuat, rapidly. The prices at which tn, products are being supplied to store
 keepers, hucksters and other retai dealers by farmers and wholesale ant
 commission firms will be collected
 early each morning by trained mar
 ket reporter who will take grade ant
 quality into consideration.
 The prices paid by retail dealers vii
 form the basis of the reports. How
 ] ,ver, the prices quoted wi1l@be givenol
 such measures and weights as tn 1 housewife is accustomed to buy iron
 her retailer. This feature of the ser
 1 vice should be a valuable guide te con
 sumers. since it affords an opportunit
 to study the comparative costs of tn
 different foods: moreover, it may b } used as a check on retail prices. The bureau of markets will be gla to receive any suggestions as. to 3ho7
 the Norwich marketing service: can b made more useful. Although the ser 2 vice is operated in a number of cite
 in various parts of the country, it
 recognized that local situations var, and every effort is made to best adar