Number and location of field offices of Bureau of Markets.

[s, Separate office for field work of single division. J, Joint office for field work of two or more divisions and operated under one management. c, Office for two or more lines of field work and operated under one management, or, if under separate management, by a single Bureau division, or under some special arrangement.]

Collection, Compilation, and Publication of Statistics.

The market data collected by the Bureau of Markets are obtained in some cases by the field offices of the Bureau and in others directly by the Bureau at Washington. The data obtained by the Washing

ton Office is secured by telegraph or by mail on schedule forms provided therefor; the field offices utilize the schedule method in some inquiries, but in others the field representatives secure the data directly from the records of business establishments, or, when the information is in terms of estimates, by personal interviews and observations at such establishments.

The Division of Market Statistics has general oversight of the statistical work of the Bureau, and is charged with the coordination of the statistical product of the several commodity divisions and of the field offices. The Division also, to a varying extent, assists the commodity divisions in the actual tabulating of statistics; and it has charge of the Bureau's mechanical equipment for tabulating recurrent data.

Statistical results are published both by field offices and by the Washington Office. Through the exchange of information by telegraph and otherwise, field offices are enabled to issue daily, weekly, and monthly reports of commodity movements and prices for the benefit of the communities in which they are severally located. The Washington Office reports much information to the public in daily statements released to the press; it contributes to the regular bulletin series of the Department commodity bulletins occasionally carrying statistical information in appendices; but its principal channel for the publication of market statistics is the Market Reporter, a publication of 16 quarto pages issued each Saturday. This periodical, which is compiled by the Division of Market Information, has a circulation of about 30,000 copies. Special departments are devoted to live stock and meats, dairy and poultry products, fruits and vegetables, grain and seeds, hay and feed, cotton, and foreign markets. Statistical tabulations are included under each department weekly.

The classification used in the Market Reporter affords the most logical basis for a detailed consideration of the market and statistical inquiries of the Bureau of Markets, and these inquiries will accordingly be discussed in the following pages in substantially the same classification and order as that employed by the Bureau in the publication of the summary statistical results.

Live Stock and Meats.

The live stock and meat statistics issued by the Bureau of Markets comprise daily and weekly reports of prices, receipts, shipments, and purchases by packers; a monthly report of receipts and disposition of live stock at public stockyards; a monthly report of live stock slaughter, costs, and yields; and a monthly report of meat supplies at 3 eastern markets-Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.

DAILY AND WEEKLY REPORTS ON LIVE STOCK AND MEATS.

Daily live stock and meat reports (mimeographed) are published at 8 field offices of the Bureau-Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Kansas City, East St. Louis (National Stock Yards), Omaha, and South St. Paul.

The reports of all offices for any given day contain practically identical information. This is made possible by the daily interchange of telegraphic advice among the 8 offices. The information includes (1) the daily range of price quotations on the several classes and grades of live stock in the 5 western markets named; (2) the daily range of price quotations on the several classes and grades of western dressed meats in the 3 eastern markets and in Chicago; (3) the estimated receipts (on the date of the report) of the several classes of live stock in 14 western and 3 eastern markets;1 and, (4) for the preceding day, the actual receipts as well as packer purchases in and shipments from 12 western and 3 eastern markets.

About 1,100 copies of the daily mimeographed reports are distributed from each office, on the average. The circulation is confined to traders, packers, retail meat dealers, live stock commission men, banks, farmers, feeders, colleges of agriculture, farm bureau managers, county agents of the Department and the press. The commercial telegraph companies, however, maintain special news services which give these reports extensive newspaper circulation.

A table is presented in each weekly issue of the Market Reporter showing the price ranges on the past Tuesday for the several classes and grades of live stock at Chicago, Kansas City, East St. Louis, Omaha, and St. Paul. A second table shows the price ranges of the several classes and grades of dressed meats at Chicago and New York for that Tuesday and comparably for two preceding Tuesdays. These tables are based on the daily reports of field offices. The wholesale price ranges on cured pork and pork products on the past Friday at Chicago with comparisons for the two preceding Fridays are furnished by the Chicago office for publication in the Market Reporter.

The field offices at Chicago, Kansas City, East St. Louis, Omaha, and South St. Paul, secure from the records of packers and shippers in those markets, reports as to the total number, total weight, and total cost of hogs purchased each day. From these data the average weight and average cost of hogs are daily telegraphed to the Washington Office. The averages, for each of the 5 markets, by days and by weeks, are published regularly in the Market Reporter.

1 Including Buffalo, Cincinnati, Denver, Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Jersey City, New York, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh, St. Joseph, Sioux City, and Wichita, in addition to the 5 markets named.

A statement of stocker and feeder shipments of cattle and calves, hogs, and sheep from 11 western markets is published each week in the Market Reporter. This statement shows the number of each class shipped, by markets of origin and by States of destination. For each of 10 western markets, the weekly receipts, shipments, and local slaughter of cattle and calves, hogs, and sheep are shown in a table, comparatively for the two preceding weeks. These tables are based on data secured by field offices from stockyards at the markets included.

MONTHLY REPORT OF RECEIPTS AND DISPOSITION OF LIVE STOCK AT PUBLIC

STOCKYARDS.

This report, which appears regularly in the Market Reporter, usually in the second or third issue following the close of the month to which it relates, is based on a card schedule forwarded each month to the Bureau of Markets by the secretary or other official of each of 69 stockyards in the United States. It shows the number of the different classes of live stock-cattle, calves, hogs, sheep, and horses— received in, shipped from, and slaughtered at each of the 69 stockyards during the month.

MONTHLY REPORT OF LIVE STOCK SLAUGHTER, COSTS, AND YIELDS.

At the end of each month the Bureau of Markets receives by mail from each of about 800 slaughterhouses1 a schedule showing the numbers of cattle, calves, hogs, and sheep and lambs slaughtered during the month. For each class the schedule data include the total live weight, dressed weight, live cost, and dressed cost; also the weights of specified by-products (differing for each class), the value of all by-products, the number of animals slaughtered under Federal inspection, the number slaughtered under State and city inspection, and the number condemned.

Averages derived from the tabulation of these schedules are published in the Market Reporter about a month after the close of the month to which they relate.

MONTHLY REPORT OF MEAT SUPPLIES AT THREE EASTERN MARKETS.

In the three eastern markets, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, the field offices of the Bureau of Markets obtain from receivers of shipped meat daily schedules showing the quantities and classes of meat received by each during the day. These schedules are tabulated in the field offices. The results of the daily tabulations, includ

1 Of the 800 reporting slaughterhouses about 350 (operating under Federal inspection) ship their products interstate and about 450) (operating under State or local inspection) ship their products intrastate only.

ing totals for the week, are forwarded to the Washington Office at the close of each week. The field offices also obtain weekly reports from Federal and municipal inspectors of the number of animals of each kind slaughtered under Federal inspection, and the number slaughtered under city inspection. These reports are likewise tabulated and submitted to the Washington Office in summary form.

From these two reports a tabular statement is published monthly in the Market Reporter, appearing in the second or third issue after the end of the month to which it relates. It shows for each of the three markets for that month and comparably for the corresponding month in the preceding year (1) the number of carcasses of western dressed steers, cows, bulls, calves, hogs, sheep, lambs, and goats, and the number of pounds of fresh pork cuts and of fresh beef cuts received; (2) the number of cattle, calves, hogs, sheep, and goats slaughtered locally under Federal inspection; and (3) the numbers of such animals slaughtered locally under city inspection.

Inasmuch as large stocks of fresh meats are not usually kept on hand for any length of time, the monthly receipts and local slaughter are taken by the Bureau as fairly indicative of the monthly supply.

Wool.

The wool statistics of the Bureau of Markets relate to the quantities of wool consumed in manufacture and to the stocks of wool in the hands of dealers and manufacturers. A schedule showing quantities of wool consumed in manufacture is furnished the Bureau monthly by about 550 manufacturers, and a schedule showing stocks of wool on hand is returned quarterly by about 1,050 dealers and manufacturers. The data from both schedules are tabulated and the results published in the Market Reporter, appearing about a month after the close of the periods to which they relate. The published statements show for the entire country the monthly consumption of wool and the quantities held by dealers and by manufacturers at the end of each quarter, classified according to condition, grade, and class of wool. Additional tabulations show, by States, the quantity consumed and on hand under various classifications.

Dairy and Poultry Products.

The market reports of the Bureau of Markets dealing with dairy and poultry products comprise a number of daily, weekly, and monthly reports, a quarterly report and an annual report. The daily and weekly reports relate to the distribution and prices of butter and cheese and the distribution of eggs and poultry. The monthly reports show the distribution and prices of condensed and evaporated milk and the prices of fluid milk. The quarterly and annual reports relate to the factory production of milk products and oleomargarine.