Because it is the distributing point for an agricultural State, changes in farming methods have been reflected in the business life of the city. With the introduction of diversified farming to supplement wheat growing, Fargo became an important shipping center for grain, potatoes, dairy, and poultry products. In 1936 it was the largest primary sweet clover market in the world. Seed companies, creameries, a flour mill, bakeries, and implement distributors are evidence of the relationship between the city and the large farming area it serves. As late as 1927 Fargo was the world's third largest farm machinery distributing point, and, although it undoubtedly does not retain this position, as a shipping point it has become even more significant. A change in freight rates granted in 1925 by the Interstate Commerce Commission boosted Fargo volume. Two of the three railroads into the city are transcontinental lines which, with their branches, cover almost the entire State of North Dakota. Several "feeder lines" converge at Fargo and in addition there are a large number of trucking companies. The Minneapolis _Star_ said in 1936: "Fargo stands in exactly the same relationship to the northwest that Minneapolis has always stood.... The significant point is that it is some 250 miles nearer the western point of consumption. Goods that used to stop at Minneapolis for distribution now flow on to Fargo to be piecemealed out." The largest single part of the wholesale trade is carried on by automotive distributors, including the Ford and Chevrolet Motor Companies. Processing accounts for the next largest part of the city's industry, and, although meat packing and creameries are important, there is a constant increase in the manufacture of steel, wood, and glass products. Fargo is likewise a banking and insurance center, and has the home offices of two insurance companies. Its situation, at the point where railroads first entered the State, in what Stuart Chase has characterized as perhaps the richest farming region in the world, has combined with the North Dakota Agricultural College to make Fargo the natural agricultural headquarters for North Dakota. Results of experimental work conducted at the college station and its substations, extension work through 4-H and Homemakers clubs, and judging of farm produce at State and county fairs by college instructors, all contribute to the improvement of agricultural and rural life in the State. Fargo's percentage of home ownership is far above the national average. Homes clustered around the business district are of early twentieth century frame vintage, while farther out newer cottages and bungalows, in English and Colonial style, behind small young trees and newly sprouting lawns, are characteristic of the more recent residential additions. Some of Fargo's finest homes are on Eighth Street South.