Public Document

No. 4

SIXTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT

OK THE

MASSACHUSETTS

»

State Board of Agriculture.

PART II.

YEAR BOOK

1917.

BOSTON:

WRIGHT it POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS,

32 DERNE STREET.

1918.

Publication of this Document

approved by the
Supervisor of Administration.

COI^TEISTTS.

< Part II.

PAGE

Public Winter Meeting of the Board at Worcester, .... 7
Lecture: The Value of a Market News Service to Farmers and

Fruit Growers. By Howard W. Selby, 8

Lecture: The Work of the Federal Land Bank. By L. G. Robinson, 28
Lecture: Short-Time Credit for Farmers. By Charles P. Holland, . 39
Lecture: What Organization has done for the Milk Business. By

Richard Pattee, 44

Lecture: The Cost of Milk Production in New England. By Arthur

W. Gilbert, 54

Lecture: The Importance of Honey Production. By E. R. Root, . 66
Lecture: How may the Lispector know when Milk is Good. By

H. A. Harding, 74

Lecture: The Significance of a Kernel of Corn. By George M.

Twitchell, 85

Lecture: The Relation of the Railroad to the Farmer. By George

A. Cullen, 99

Lecture: War Service through Food Conservation. By Sarah Louise

Arnold, 112

Essay: Common Potato Diseases and their Control. By A. Vincent

Osmun, 125

Essay: Common Storage of Fruits and Vegetables. By E. H. For-

bush, 134

Essay: Interpretation of the Net Weight Regulations for marking

Packages of Honey. By Burton N. Gates, 146

Agricultural Legislation of 1917, 155

Index, 175

State Board of Agriculture, 1918.

Members ex Officio.

His Excellency SAMUEL W. McCALL.
KENYON L. BUTTERFIELD, President. Massachusetts Agricultural College.
LESTER H. HOWARD, Commissioner of Animal Industry.
F. ■WILLL\M RANE, State Forester.
WILFRID WHEELER, Secretary of the Board.

Members appointed by the Governor and Council.

Term expires i

HENRY M. HOWARD of Newton (P. O. West Newton) 1920

EDWARD E. CHAPMAN of Ludlow 1918

FRANK P. NEWKIRK of Easthampton 1919

Members chosen by the Incorporated Societies.

Ameshury and Salisbury {AgiicuUural

and Horticultural),
Barnstable County, .

Blackstone Valley,

Deerfield Valley,

Eastern Hampden, .

Essex,

Franklin County,

Hampshire,

Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden, .
Highland, .....

Hillside, .....

Hingham (, Agricultural and Horticul-
tural), .....

Hoosac Valley, ....

Housalonic, .....

Lenox Horticultural,

Marshfield (Agricultural and Horticul-
tural), .....

Martha's Vineyard,

Massachusetts Horticultural,

Massachusetts Society for Promoting
Agriculture, ....

Middlesex North, ....

Nantucl-et, .....

Oxford

Plymouth County, ....

A. WILLIS BARTLETT of SaRsbury, . . 1920
JOHN BURSLEY of Barnstable (P. O. West

Barnstable), 1918

JACOB A. WILLIAMS of Northbridge. . 1920

STEPHEN W. HAWKES of Charlemont, . 1919

OMER E. BRADWAY of Monson, . . 1920

GEORGE L. AVERILL of Andover, . . 1919

GEORGE E. TAYLOR, Jr., of Shelbnrne, . 1918
HOWARD A. PARSONS of Amherst (P. O.

North Amherst), 1918

CLARENCE E. HODGKINS of Northampton, 1920

HARRY A. FORD of Dalton. . . 1919
MILTON S. HOWES of Cummington (P. O.

Swift River) 1919

URBAN S. BATES of Hingham, . . . 1920

NATHAN B. FLOOD of North Adams, . 1920

FRED M. FORD of Sheffield. . . . 1920

ALFRED H. WINGETT of Lenox. . . 1919

WALTER H. FAUNCE of Kingston. . . 1920

JAMES F. ADAMS of West Tisbury. . . 1918

SAMUEL J. GODDARD of Framingham, . 1920

NATHANIEL I. BOWDITCH of Framing-
ham 1920

GEORGE W. TRULL of Tewksbury (P. O.

Lowell. R. F. D.) 1919

CHARLES E. BURGESS of Nantucket, . 1920

JOHN F. FREELAND of Sutton. . . 1918
ERNEST LEACH of Bridgewater. . .1919

» First Tuesday ia December.

6 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4, Part II.

Term expires i

Quannapowitt CALVERT H. PLAYDON, D.V.S., of Reading, 1918

Union, EDWIN F. GOODWIN of Chester (P. O.

Huntington), 1920

Westport, CHARLES R. TALLMAN of Westport (P. O.

South Westport), 1920

West Taunton CHARLES I. KING of Taunton, . . 1919

Weymouth (^Agricultural and Horticul-
tural) HOWARD H. JOY of W^eymouth (P. O. South

Weymouth), 1920

Worcester CHARLES H. ELLSWORTH of Worcester, . 1919

Worcester North {AgricuHural and

Driving Association), . . HENRY D. CLARK, D.V.S., of Fitchburg, . 1920
Worcester Northwest (Agricultural and

Mechanical) ALBERT ELLSWORTH of Athol, . . 1918

Worcester South, .... WILLIAM E. PATRICK of Warren, . . 1918

Worcester County West, . . . LOUIS H. RUGGLES of Hardwick, . . 1919

Member chosen by the Massachusetts Federation of County Leagues and Farm

Bureaus.
L. L. RICHARDSON of Leominster 1918

' First Tuesday in December.

®l)e ^ommonwealtl) oi illasBacljUBctb,

SIXTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture.

PAET II.

PUBLIC WINTER MEETING OF THE STATE BOARD OF

AGRICULTURE AT WORCESTER, JANUARY

8, 9 AND 10, 1918.

The annual Public Winter Meeting of the Board for lectures
and discussions was held at Worcester January 8, 9 and 10, 1918,
in the Hotel Bancroft and Horticultural Hall. At this time the
Massachusetts Dair\Tnen's Association and the Massachusetts
Milk Inspectors' Association held their annual meetings, and the
vegetable growers and beekeepers of the State convened in
special meetings. The co-operation of these organizations did
much in the way of increasing the interest in and attendance at
the meetings.

There were exhibits of fruit, vegetables, honey, wax and
apiary appliances, and an ornithological exhibit, all of which
attracted much attention. Other features of the meeting in
which considerable interest was manifested were the corn,
butter, milk and cream shows.

On the first day the meeting was called to order at 10 o'clock
in the morning by Secretary Wilfrid Wheeler of Concord. Mr.
Wheeler introduced Mayor Pehr G. Holmes, who welcomed the
Board to Worcester. The response of the Board to this greet-
ing was made b}' Mr. Nathan B. Flood of North Adams, who
then introduced Mr. Howard W. Selby, Director of the Market
Bureau, Eastern States Exposition, Springfield, who spoke on
"The Value of a Market News Service to Farmers and Fruit
Growers."

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

THE YALUE OF A MARKET NEWS SERVICE TO
FARMERS AND FRUIT GROWERS.

HOWARD W. SELBY, DIRECTOR, MARKET BUREAU, EASTERN STATES
EXPOSITION, SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

I was asked, before coming up here, if I would have some-
thing interesting and amusing to say in the course of this hour
this morning, but the subject that has been chosen is "The
Value of a Market News Service to Farmers and Fruit Grow-
ers." This is not a most interesting sort of a subject, but it is
one of the most practical that might be presented and dis-
cussed at this morning's session.

It has been an interesting study to note the development in
the market-gardening and fruit-growing business, especially in
the way that the farmer and producer has been keeping in
touch with his product from the time it leaves the farm until it
is sold on the market. It is becoming somewhat obsolete to
find the farmer who is removed a few miles from the market
who fails to know and realize what price his products have sold
for until a week or ten days or more — two weeks — have
elapsed.

I have been surprised, however, in the course of the last two
weeks to learn that some of the men on the outskirts of Boston,
who are selling their products through the regular channels of
the commission houses there, are failing to receive returns until
the end of the second week; and furthermore, fail to know and
realize what their goods have brought on the market. I think
there is nothing weaker in the line of market gardening or any
especial line of farming than that great weakness which has
been brought out in that particular instance.

I used to go down, a number of years ago, on the eastern
shore of Maryland and Virginia, and there they were producing

Part II.] MARKET NEWS SERVICE. 9

cantaloupes in great quantities, shipping them from the farms
to the cities of Philadelphia, New York, Boston and other
points. The returns from those cantaloupes would be received,
as I have stated, from ten days to two weeks, sometimes a
month, after the shipment was forwarded. The returns would
be anywhere from postage stamps to a fairly reasonable sized
check. But during all of that time the farmer continued send-
ing his shipments on without a knowledge of what the outcome
or the return would be.

Now, I would hesitate to speak along that line or even make
the slightest mention of it this morning, except for the fact that
it has been called directly to my attention that this case con-
tinues to exist around the largest city in this State; and that
farmers within 20 to 30 miles of Boston are still operating their
business on such a method as that. It is an absolute lack of
system, — an absence of the fundamental principle which is
absolutely and entirely necessary to success.

That same principle applies to the Jersey farmers, with whom
many of you are familiar, who bring their produce to the Phil-
adelphia market from day to day. There was a time, a few
years back, when they did not know what that produce was
bringing, but to-day they are receiving either a telephone call
or a postal communication the following morning, telling at
what price the product sold.

That is enabling them, whenever it is possible, to force their
products through, and, if they are within reasonable hauling
distance of the city market, to bring in shipments or their loads
later in the day and so manage to sell them on the high market
while it continues. The telephone, therefore, and the postal
service have been the first two factors in developing real market
news service, — in making it possible for us to know whether
the products grown on the farm are bringing the actual cost of
harvesting and of shipping.

Now the development as it comes in that line — the one from
the merchant to the grower — is the one we have stated, but
there has been another significant growth in the line of market
news service. This has been effected more especially where
there has been organized effort manifested on the part of the

10 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

growers. More notable is the Eastern Shore of Virginia Produce
Exchange, which has placed a representative on a number of
the large city markets in different sections of the country.
They have their sales agent on the Philadelphia, New York,
Chicago, Boston, and, I think, about six or eight other leading
markets, — the largest markets throughout the country.

These men, in their original plan, drew in the information
from surrounding cities. The representative in Chicago would
know what the prices were in Milwaukee, Minnesota, St. Paul,
Des Moines and, in the beginning, in St. Louis. He would
be in touch with that entire radius of territory, and then as-
semble the information and send it on to their central office in
Onley, Virginia.

That work has been supplemented now and is being done on
a more efficient and wider basis through the channels of our
own Department of Agriculture, — the Bureau of Markets.
Many of you have been brought in touch more directly in this
past season with the results and benefits of that particular serv-
ice. That service is divided into two main, two principal, forms.
There is one which was started originally three or four years
ago and extended its operations into Philadelphia, New York,
Boston, Pittsburg, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati and St. Louis.
I think that covers the entire number on their western circuit.

This service was started for the purpose of reporting car-lot
shipments, and was covering only a few selected commodities.
The five or six particular commodities covered are potatoes,
onions, cabbage, sweet potatoes, watermelons, cantaloupes,
peaches and apples. Some of those you will notice have their
short seasons, and are still handled only during those seasons,
of course. The other commodities, which are the staple, the
non-perishable or semi-perishable products, are handled or re-
ported on the year round.

The report of the service was met with by opposition in the
beginning on the part of the men in the different cities who
were selling the commodities. They immediately saw the result
and effect it would have on their business, especially some of
the men who were selling at a fair price and returning at a
different price. This had a very direct benefit for the producer,
inasmuch as it was a check-up on market conditions, and re-

Part II.] MARKET NEWS SERVICE. 11

ported them directly as official government information to the
producers. It has brought about a marked benefit in that
regard, but it has handled car lots only. That service is being
extended through a recent appropriation, so that it will cover
an increased number of cities, in which will be included Cleve-
land, Detroit and a number of cities which come in the second
class and which heretofore have not been covered.

Now, there is one sort of market news service that has been
extended into this section on a larger scale this past summer.
It deals with local products, — the products of the market gar-
deners who are within short distances of the city markets; and
it deals chiefly with less than car-lot volumes of business, or
less than car-lot shipments. There has been an extension of
that work in this part of the country into the cities of Provi-
dence, Boston, Springfield, Bridgeport and Albany. Some of
the growers who are present this morning acknowledge and have
expressed their interest in and appreciation of this service.
They have recognized the value which has come from it.

They have recognized, further, that the government is ex-
tending such service and giving the most valuable help only to
the sections where there is a tangible organization with which
they can work. There was the Market Gardeners Association
in Providence, the same type of organization in Boston, another
in Springfield and in Bridgeport, with which the government
found immediate and ready co-operation. This enabled them
to make their work and service more effective, because they
were certain that they could secure the results where there were
a number of men banded and grouped together who were suf-
ficiently interested themselves to study the problems that were
before them.

I have taken this as a single illustration of the value of co-
operation of local organizations as it is viewed by the govern-
ment in Washington, because the notable illustration and in-
stance is in the fact that that service has not yet been extended
to any city where there is no local market gardeners' or pro-
ducers' association. That is rather suggestive to some of you
men who may come from the cities where you have not yet
banded yourselves together in a working organization.

There are a number of benefits which the producers report

12 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

they have derived from this, and they have been of an imme-
diate and a cash vahie to them. I have cited an instance
several times, — the spinach illustration from the city of
Providence.

Last June spinach was selling on that market at 45 cents a
bushel. At that rate the producers were hauling it in in increas-
ing supplies, and when it came to Wednesday morning the pro-
ducers stated to Mr. Taylor, the agent of the Bureau of Markets,
that they expected there would be a tremendous glut on the
market, especially by the latter part of the week. But they
continued to hold their nerve, and on coming to market Thurs-
day morning started their price — as is the custom on most
farmers' markets — where they left off on the day before. They
started at the 45-cent figure, and it continued through Thursday
at that price.

They said, "This is surely providential and something un-
usual, but it will be to-morrow that the market will break."
And so in their habitual manner, on Friday morning, although
the supply of spinach had greatly increased, they started the
price at 45 cents a bushel. It sold for a while at 45 cents, and
later was reduced to 40 cents; but the market was cleared up
on spinach at that figure.

They said, "To-morrow is the day, because the people of
Providence are surely full of spinach before this time, and we will
not be able to sell the supply that we will have come to market
in the morning." But starting in their accustomed habit at 40
cents a bushel, they were surprised to find the spinach had sold
entirely at an early hour without a decline in the price.

Now, the reason for that they were kind enough to attribute
directly to Mr. Taylor's work through the Bureau of Markets.
It was because of the fact that publicity had been made use of
relative to the abundant supply of spinach. The article had
been reported in this manner, that "spinach was now at the
height of the season, and it could be bought to best advantage
for canning for the coming winter's supply."

The women read those articles; they had the close co-oper-
ation of the newspapers, and they were publishing all of this
information. In connection with that article there were state-
ments made of government recipes of different ways to use

Part II.] MARKET NEWS SERVICE. 13

spinach, showing housewives that there was more than one way
in which this vegetable could be used, and used with delight
and profit. As the result and outcome of that publicity and
that agitation — that more spinach be consumed — more spin-
ach was consumed; and as I have contended before, in the
meetings of our Vegetable Growers' Association of America, we
are in the position, — if we are properly organized to dispense
this news information, — to feed the people of the United
States the products as they come to the height of the season,
and we can, through the proper use and channels of publicity,
educate the people to eat the products when they are at the
height of their season. If there is any one thing in regard to
the business of market gardening that we are woefully failing
in, it is in that one particular above all others.

There are other problems that enter in, but the manufacturer
is making his success through publicity about his products. The
people of California through their organizations are making a
success through the fact that they are advocating that the
housewife consume that which they have produced, and which
they are placing on the markets for her use. This possibility
does not reside solely in the California people, and although
they have a remarkable boosting spirit, and one which we ad-
mire and sometimes envy, at the same time there is a similar
possibility right here through our Market News Service which
the government is trying to urge upon us, and w^hich it is offer-
ing to various cities throughout the country.

The day after I was in Providence, when I found spinach
there selling at the price of 40 cents a bushel, or at the rate of
about $1.25 a barrel, I found it was selling on the markets in
Albany at from 10, 20 to 75 cents a barrel, with an extreme
glut on the market. The people of Albany had no more spin-
ach than they would have consumed had they been educated
to the point of consuming it, — had they known that the spin-
ach was there to be had at reasonable prices. But we simply
come with our wares and place them under the bushel and
imagine a consumer and storekeeper is going to root under there
and dig them out from their burial place. Now, that is the way
we are conducting business, and here is the possibility of the
Market News Service changing and remedying that condition.

14 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

Now you say, "There is an interference in between." The
retailer might buy this product at the low price when we have
the glut on the market. But the News Service was taking it to
the consumer at low prices. It was doing it in this manner:
an advertisement was placed in the papers, — publicity was
given through the columns of the paper, — stating that the
spinach was sold by the farmer at 40 cents a bushel. When she
went to the storekeeper, the housewife refused to pay 40 cents
a peck for that spinach, and said, "This is an unjust profit."
She required that he sell the spinach at some reasonable margin
of profit. When he was obliged to do this he found that he sold
increased volumes, and although he objected at first to the in-
terference in his business, — the giving of publicity to the price
which he paid for the product, — admission was made later by
some of the representatives of that business that they had sold
an increased volume, which had more than made up for the
difference which they had formerly made in profit.

Now, what we wish to advocate is that these men "in be-
tween" will sell an increased volume on a closer margin, helping
us to remove the glutted condition from the farm, and enabling
the farmer to raise the product at a price which will warrant
yielding to the claims which are made on that increased pro-
duction, and which will enable the consumer to secure the
product at somewhere near a reasonable price.

Do you see the beautiful condition brought about in this
way? Well, it increased the price to the producer and de-
creased the price to the consumer. At the same time, the in-
creased volume in between made a greater net profit for the
middle man. Now, is there any policy or statement which says
"cut out" or "eliminate" the middle man? It is admitting his
necessity, but trying to bring a condition to bear, or a relation-
ship to bear, which will be more in accordance with the eco-
nomic laws.

I found on going into Hartford, Connecticut, upon my en-
trance into the work here in New England, that peaches were
selling on September 6 at 90 cents to a dollar a half-bushel
basket. That same product was selling on the market of Port-
land, Maine, on that particular, and on the following, day at
$1.75 a half-bushel basket, and a scarcity on the market was

Part II.] MARIvET NEWS SERVICE. 15

reported. There was no need for the particular scarcity; there
was a lack of distribution. The people of Hartford had failed
to recognize the fact that there was a scarcity in Portland,
Maine. There is some admission to be made this year for
transportation problems; but that condition has been found in
other years, as well as in the present year, so that it is a typical
illustration as well as one which applies to this particular
season.

The Market News Service has proved of inestimable value to
the people of the eastern shore, to whom I referred awhile ago.
Its members, through their organization, are marketing all over
the United States. When I went down into that country a
number of years ago I found that those men recognized the
three markets of Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York. That
was the limit of their horizon and the extent of their geography
so far as markets were concerned. When I was there two or
three months ago I found those men shipping on that particular
day 104 carloads of sweet potatoes. They went to 59 different
markets throughout the United States.

They avoid glutting Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York;
they avoid shipping to those cities and having the crop diverted,
at extra cost and expense. They sent the potatoes right on to
Salt Lake City, Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago and right down
to Fort Worth; and 12 or 14 cars of them up here into dif-
ferent points in New England, — not all to Boston, but differ-
ent points in New England.

Some of that information had been seciu-ed through their
own channels, but a larger part of it had been secured, I was
told, through the information furnished by the Bureau of Mar-
kets from Washington.

It has helped the growers, as I have stated before, who have
made their consignments to the local man. So that it not only
applies to the large organized institutions, such as the Eastern
Shore of Virginia Produce Exchange, but also to you as indi-
viduals. It applies to you whether you haul to the Boston or
Springfield market or the Providence market, or whether you
go off in some of the surrounding smaller cities and sell your
produce there; because how many times do the men who are
selling in those smaller markets make a guess on what their

16 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

product should bring? We do not recognize the law of supply
and demand in its particular relation with the guesswork or
with the information of the Boston market which is received
indirectl}^ through the local retailer of the smaller city; in that
way we establish our prices, and that is entirely a false method
or false system.

The information which the government furnishes comes to
you under franked envelope daily, telling what the prices were
in Boston. You can secure reports telling what the prices were
in Chicago or in any other part of the United States, but you
can get the prices, if you are in the surrounding territory to
Boston, telling what every item and every commodity brought
on the market that particular morning.

It is having a tendency in that regard to stabilize conditions
throughout the United States. It is having a tendency to sta-
bilize that condition, as I illustrated, between the Providence
market on spinach and the market of Albany, New York, be-
cause there will be an equalization of those prices brought about
by the dissemination of this information. The housewives, as
I have stated, have increased their demands because they have
read of those commodities which are in the height of their
season. As the reporting service was started there in Provi-
dence and spread in the other sections, it has literally adver-
tised every item that has been brought in from the farms to the
markets; and instead of the housewife going to the market or
her local retailer, and thinking in terms of two or three com-
modities which she knows ought to be at the height of their
season, she has the newspaper information which tells her that
that retailer should have 30 different kinds of vegetables, and
enumerates what thej^ are, as well as enumerates what price he
has paid for them and at how reasonable a figure she should be
able to secure them. The whole system of the market reporting
service is simply one of enabling that law of supply and demand
to operate more freely and to operate over a wider territory,
equalizing our business from the standpoint of distribution and
from the standpoint, in large measure, of the prices.

Now you say, "We have difficulties sometimes in regard to
those prices because we find this morning that the market in

Part II.] IMARKET NEWS SERVICE. 17

Springfield on potatoes is ranging from $1.85 to $2, while in
some other sections we find it is $1.75."

Now the very knowledge that there is this difference in
price will tend to equalize it when communicated to potato
growers; for shipments to the low-priced markets will tend to
slacken, and shipments to the high-priced markets will increase,
until the prices are again in equilibrium.

Now there are several indirect benefits which I have not
exactly alluded to that can come from this market reporting
service. In regard to tending to equalize supplies, you know
that before this sort of service was established, and before we
had the telegraph and telephone communication, we would
simply harvest the goods and bring them into the market with-
out an understanding of what the different farmers throughout
that section were bringing into the market.

There is an ^attempt on the part of this service to secure in-
formation from those growers on the market each day, so that
they will state whether they expect to have their normal sup-
ply or an increased supply on the coming day. The govern-
ment agent who is there can better secure that information and
can give those farmers, before they leave the market, an idea
as to whether a greater amount of potatoes is expected than the
demand will warrant. He can guide and gauge in a large man-
ner, and has done so in the experience of this past summer.

Another indirect benefit, as I see it, which is bound to come
from this market reporting service, is in this respect. You saj-,
"We cannot apply the thing as the Eastern Shore of Virginia
Produce Exchange is doing it; we have not the goods in a com-
mon standard or common grade. There is an absence of that,
and it makes our different farms have different standards; for
every different farmer there is a different grade and difl'erent
standard." Some will say that we are beginning at the wrong
end by advocating a Market News Service before we have first
advocated and put into operation a common grade and standard
law.

Well, the result of this is that we have seen the confusion and
we have seen the weakness in the service and the system, which
means that national legislation is being attempted along the

18 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

lines, jSrst, of grading and standardizing apples, so that there
will be a report come in from Buffalo, New York, and one from
Cincinnati, and another from Boston and Portland, and we will
have some understanding as to what it means. It will not rep-
resent a different standard in Buffalo and a different standard
in Boston, but it will bring us together to know and to get a
legislative standard that will help solve that problem. It is
going to teach us our own weakness. I say that that point
will tend towards solution.

It has had other effects and other benefits. Mr. Tinkham
could probably give you this better than I could cite it, but it
taught us in this last summer at one time that the cabbage on
the market was not worth the price of harvesting and hauling
in. The farmer might have learned some of that from bitter
experience, but with that Market News Service continuing, it
showed that the market after a while had regained to the point
where it would warrant cutting and bringing the cabbage into
the market.

We all have that time on the farm or in the garden or in
the orchard when we are doubtful as to whether or not the
products will bring the actual cost of gathering and of the pack-
age or container in which they must necessarily be shipped, so
that we are hesitant about which step to take; but this sort of
service will tell us whether the markets, our local markets, will
absorb them, and tell us whether or not there are other markets
that are available.

Now there are thoughts in the minds of those in Washing-
ton, and some of us in this section have the belief, that this
information could be disseminated on a more extensive basis to
greater advantage; that if the people of Hartford were better
informed of the condition of the peach market in Portland they
would be in an advantageous position. If the men over in
Albany, when they have their excess supply of some commodity,
as they had the spinach, would learn that Springfield and
Worcester were short on spinach it would enable them to ship
that commodity in here and receive a better return from it.
It would enable the farmers of Worcester, if they had the
service in operation here, to ship over to Albany when they

Part II.] MARKET NEWS SERVICE. 19

had the surplus and excess, knowing that Albany was short
on that particular commodity.

So the plan, as it is being suggested and thought of at the
present time, is this: there has been an agent in operation in
Bridgeport, Connecticut, Providence, Rhode Island, Boston and
Springfield, Massachusetts, and Albany, New York. There
could be, to advantage, we believe, an agent placed in addition
to these in New Haven, Hartford, Worcester, Portland, pos-
sibly Portsmouth or some other city, — a distributing point in
New Hampshire, — and in Burlington, Vermont, linking up
those different stations with a leased wire, and include on the
circuit Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, Springfield, Worces-
ter, Providence, Boston, Portsmouth, Portland, Burlington and
Albany, — if you can imagine that geographical circle, — so
that news would be disseminated every day, and by noon time
you would know in Boston or in Worcester what peaches or
spinach or apples or any other commodity were bringing in
Portland or in Burlington. It would enable you to ship them
off on that particular day, and have them there at the earliest
possible moment to meet the needs.

Now, I have mentioned three cities which you will regard as
being very limited from the standpoint of being market centers
for locally grown products, — they are Portsmouth, Portland
and Burlington. But they are to be considered and recognized
as valuable distributing points for the products that we are
growing here in New England. You take the coast section in
New Hampshire: although it is only 18 or 20 miles in length,
I am told that there are upwards of a quarter of a million
people there in the summer season.

You go into the Portland section and you find it distributing
along the entire coast of Maine, which is 300 or 400 miles in
length, and shipping up into the White Mountain sections,
which are densely populated with the tourist element through-
out the entire summer months.

You go to Burlington, Vermont, and you find them supply-
ing the tourists and the summer resort people of the Lake
Champlain section, into the Green Mountains, and the western
section of the White Mountains.

20 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

Now, then, if we were to know there was a scarcity of these
products, or that peaches were bringing $1.75 in any one of
those cities and low prices here, could we not profitably ship
to those markets and take advantage of those prices and give
some benefit to the people of that section who are without the
commodity through a large part of the season? At the present
time you know as well as I do that their supplies are being
shipped largely from Boston and from Albany, those two cen-
ters getting the entire benefit, and if our Springfield products
go up to Portland, they go to Boston first, are handled there, —
at expense again, — and then go on to Portland, after some
considerable profit has been added to them.

Now, the idea is that there will be some bringing together of
these two factors, — the buyers of Portland and the shippers
of Springfield and Worcester and the other cities named ; and
we believe that that is an entirely feasible and workable plan,
and that plan is being suggested and considered by your State
Department and by the Bureau of Markets in Washington, and
we hope it will be brought about during the coming spring.

Some of you may say, "How can we secure that service for
Worcester or for some other of these cities that have not yet
secured it?" You can secure it by working through your local
organization and in co-operation with your State leaders in
marketing and with the Bureau of Markets at Washington.
There was an amount of money available a short while ago
which is available until June 30, and certain cities will be
chosen where that service will be placed; and I will warrant,
from the experience which I have previously had in that de-
partment, that the service will be placed in the city where there
is the greatest demand for it. They will not go out into the
sections, as I stated a while ago, where they are unorganized.
They will look for the organized effort, so that they may show
the best results for the expenditure of money. They want to
show the results with the appropriations as they are used. So
your men of Worcester might be able to secure such an agent
here who would be able to give you that information daily,
and who would put you in touch with those different cities.

Providence has been standing one-half the expense. The
other cities are standing one-half the expense on the local

Part II.] MARKET NEWS SERVICE. 21

markets for that reporting service. The men of Providence and
the men of every other city with whom I have talked con-
cerning the work say that it is worth every dollar they have
invested, and the people of Providence said, in the middle of
last June, that they had been well repaid for their expenditure
that early in the season, and they have secured the benefits
continuously from that time on.

Now, I would be glad to answer any questions you may ask
concerning this particular line of work. '

Mr. Wheeler. One thing that Mr. Selby said struck me as
being very forcible in this matter, and that is, if we are going
to get the Market News Service from the government, or help
from the government, the government is going to take it up
in those sections where you are organized, — where something
has already been done. It strikes me as being a very strong
plea for a State Department of Markets. We have at the
present time in this State no definite State organization of
markets to help the practical farmer; and in talking the matter
over with the Department in Washington, and with the secre-
tary of agriculture, I gained the same impression exactly from
them, — that they are going to help the sections that are
organized in order to work through a whole department rather
than a lot of small cities and towns, or semi-private or semi-
public organizations. It seems to me, if we are going to get
the benefit of this work, that it is our duty here to make a
good organization, the first step in order to work with the
government in this work, because it is so important. It im-
pressed me, as Mr. Selby said this morning, that the greater
importance of this work is going to be felt as we increase our
production.

I\Ir. William Swan. What Mr. Selby said about the News
Service carrying all this market news on the leased wire calls at-
tention to the fact that the Associated Press at the present time
has all these difTerent towns he has suggested, or cities, already
hooked on one great leased wire system, perhaps centering in
Boston. Nevertheless, they are all gathered every single hour of
the day. Possibly the Associated Press might be appealed to to
carry this Market News, say, twice a day, giving out the cur-

22 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

rent report of the different products and the sales in the differ-
ent cities, so that all you men might find them in the afternoon
or morning papers, rather than depend upon the uncertainties,
at the present time, in the United States mail. Something at
this time might possibly be done instead of loading the wires
of the Associated Press with long tales of crime and tragedy
not at all necessary to our daily life; and it seems to me that
the officers of the Associated Press in Boston might be appealed
to to carry these market reports just the same as they do the
stock market and grain market and produce market, which
they send daily to the "Burlington Free Press" and other New
England papers.

Mr. Selby. I will say to that, that the leased wire is used in
connection with the car-lot shipments that I referred to awhile
ago. There is one circuit covering Philadelphia, New York and
Boston, and another one covering the western circuit out to
Chicago, including St. Louis and Omaha as the farthest western
points, and information tha,t is required regarding these com-
modities takes the wire for ten hours of the day. It is the
hardest thing to get a message over those wires because they
are constantly busy with the work necessitated by reporting
from all the different cities. It is practically an independent
proposition, and will have to be, from the volume of it.

Mr. HoDGKiNS. I would like to ask Mr. Selby if it would be
practicable for us by an organized attempt — if this information
could not be gotten for some central point in each county for
the time being; if by paying for this service they could not get
that for the benefit of the particular section of the county.

Mr. Selby. Now, Mr. Tinkham might be able to answer in
that line, because the work you refer to deals more directly with
the State work. But this information was disseminated, I be-
lieve, from Providence to a number of points over the telephone
by their merely paying the charges; the information has been
given out to Springfield, and it has been telephoned to other
parts radiating from Springfield by their simply paying the tele-
phone charges. The Springfield Market Gardeners have been
assuming the other half of the obligation in co-operation with
the United States government for the service in that city.

Mr. Flood. Mr. Selby has stated that it was possible for

Part II.] IVIARKET NEWS SERVICE. 23

the farmers of, perhaps, Springfield and other places to know
at noon as to the market conditions in other centers the pre-
vious day. I would like to ask him if it would be practicable,
on perishable goods, to know at that time if they could be
shipped, for instance, from Hartford to Portland?

Mr. Selby. In our own farm experience in Jersey and south-
ern Pennsylvania, at many times in the height of the season we
bring our loads of peaches to the market without the least bit
of knowledge as to how they will be disposed of. They are
ripe, mature and must be shipped somewhere, and through this
News Service we are finding the cities where we believe there
will be the best demand, judging from the receipts reported in
those cities and from the price they are paying. The informa-
tion is received by noon the same day, not by noon the follow-
ing day.

Mr. Flood. I see. I thought it was the previous day.

]\Ir. Selby. No. The produce markets are very early in
nearly every instance, and the bulletins you men may receive
from the Boston office, if you are on the mailing list there,
show the prices. The bulletin is released at noon that day,
showing the price of the various products on that morning's
market, so that you can secure that information by telephoning
that ofiice, or, if you are in the city, receive it from the office.
You receive it by mail the following day.

]\Ir. TiNKHAM. On our market, very often any farmer that
belongs to the association can telephone in any time after 7 o'clock
in the morning and learn what the same articles were sold for
that morning in Boston. He can then ship during that day to
Boston. If there were facilities for handling it here in Worces-
ter we could as readily ship here because we know for about
what they are selling here by 7 o'clock in the morning — what
they are sold for that morning. That may be a little clearer
statement of it. Any person belonging to the association can
telephone in to the headquarters any time in the morning — I
said 7 : I might as well say 6 — and find out what any of the
local, any of the common, products are selling for in Boston,
New York, Springfield. W^e know whether we can ship to
Providence that afternoon or whether we had better ship to
Boston. Very often we do ship many truck loads into Boston.

24 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

I think we tried Worcester one or twice. That has been the
benefit to the man on the farm, — the morning service in these
other cities at that time.

A Member. Mr. Tinkham seems to have the information,
so far as Providence is concerned, but in Worcester we haven't
any way of getting any information. It seems to me some-
thing of this kind would be good, — an information bureau. I
know, as a member of the Worcester Market Gardeners, we
tried to get something of this sort last year, but could not fi-
nance it. As a matter of fact, we grow our stock and take it
in to the commission houses. From the majority or most of
them we try to get a line as to what the stuff is bringing. They
say they are trying to get such and such a price; some get it,
some don't. There seems to be a good deal of competition
among the wholesalers dickering with our stuff at our expense.
If in some way they could keep the price up where it belongs,
so we could derive benefit, it would be well.

Mr. Wheeler. Isn't there, Mr. Selby, quite a danger that
unless this Market News is disseminated from one point, —
isn't there danger, say, if the news goes out in the morning
that Worcester is short of a certain article, that every farmer
in the section would ship into Worcester and spoil the market
there; therefore, would it not be much better if the news
wasn't made too general, but that the central point be made to
reach a group of farmers near enough to Worcester to take care
of that place; reach Springfield, and take care of that place,
rather than spread this around so there is no definite control of
shipments.

Mr. Selby. That is some of the work that was before the
agent in Providence and other cities this past season. They
found that Boston would be paying a high price for a certain
article or articles, and the tendency would be to rush there.
Of course, Boston could stand quite a good volume.

That brings in one point I failed to mention before, — that
the Market News Service tells the volume that is in transit to
any particular market. The reports that I have in my pocket
show how many cars of potatoes are moving from the other
sections into Boston and the other cities of the country. In
the same way, reports could be secured from the railroad, tell-

Part II.J MARKET NEWS SERVICE. 25

ing what volume was on the way into Worcester. Of course,
your motor trucks overcome a portion of that too. It puts the
responsibility for that important feature largely on the local
agent, so that he will not induce too many of them to ship to
some point, but rather those who inquire the earliest.

Mr. Wheeler. The point that I want to make here, then,
is that your news had better go to the agent rather than to
every farmer. You should take care of the local agent rather
than try to spread that news all over the countr3\

Mr. Selby. That is the tendency, but when those farmers
from Providence would telephone into the office at 5 or 6
o'clock in the morning, and find out that the Boston market
was strong, they would, in all probability, make the statement
to the representative there that they were going to ship some
over, and he could check up in that way. Of course, you can
handle that better through your local organization if you are
properly organized for the distribution of those products. That,
of course, is simply another feature of the work on which I am
talking all the time, — our Eastern States project.

Mr. TiNKHAM. I would like to make that statement as a
fact. We always telephone to one headquarters. Sometimes
they will say, "Here, I guess I will come along in." "Hold on,
you had better go slow, there is a lot headed in that way."
That goes with the information every day, every time you ask
on a well-organized market. Then, again, one other thing you
do not understand, as well. The agent there also knows it
at about that time, — 7 o'clock, 8 o'clock. He knows approxi-
mately what the same farmer is going to have the next morning
on the same market. We know not exactly, but we know ap-
proximately, the quantity of any one article that will be on our
market the next day, as well as what is that day and what was
the day before.

Mr. Taylor. I must emphasize what Mr. Selby said, be-
cause I have met with experience in that line, in view of the
fact that I started the work in Providence. The feature that
has been brought up, whether you get too much into your one
market or not, I would not worry about. Boston can absorb,
as every one knows, a considerable quantity, and what one
section might turn into it wouldn't amount to much, — or

26 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

absorb quite enough for the present time. In the Rhode Island
section — I speak of that, knowing more about it — there are
only three or four or five men who have automobile trucks
that they can send, or spare to send, into the Boston market
at the present time. They require a certain amount of trucks
to take care of their local business. What goes away from
Providence to Boston and Worcester and Springfield they must
have extra trucks to take care of, or have some one come and
take care of it. Then another feature, that is, the advertising
value of these market reports. Mr. Tinkham can tell you, I
think, what the editor of the "Providence Journal" told him
the space would cost them if they put it in as advertising. I
think it was around $25,000, wasn't it, Mr. Tinkham?

Mr. Tinkham. A large sum.

Mr. Taylor. He said, "Put a government stamp on it and
it won't cost you anything," — between $500 and $600 instead
of $25,000 for the advertising space. Then, again, the first day
that report appeared in Providence the Providence market was
stuck on rhubarb. The retail price was 4 or 5 cents a pound,
and the wholesale price, 1 and H, only about 3,600 pounds a
day coming into the market. That was on Tuesday, — the
Monday market. By the following Saturday market there was
brought into Providence 10,600 pounds, pver three times as
much as there had been, and the price was the same, whole-
sale. The price was 3 cents a pound retail; in a few cases,
2^ in larger quantities than 1 pound in the stores. There
hadn't been any change in the weather justifying such a con-
dition in the market; simply the fact there was no outlet for
the stuff because of the lack of advertising. And where was
that outlet? Within twenty-four hours after the first notice in
the Providence paper a large shipment was sent to Worcester
from Providence. The same thing happened in the tomato
season. There were times when as much as three truck loads
of tomatoes left Providence bound for Worcester, in addition
to what went to Boston, — from Providence to Boston, because
we were carting to Boston in competition with your own
growers. There is only one way to cure that, — it is rather an
old one. I suppose there was good reason for the Worcester
people being sore on the Providence people; that is, do it your-

Part II.] MARKET NEWS SERVICE. 27

selves. There may be a time when they can reverse the prob-
lem. But as far as flooding one particular market, there isn't
going to be any trouble with that for quite a while. I think
we have a fairly good system in Providence. When peas were
a dollar a bushel on the market there was a man on the Provi-
dence market who sold his own produce, — whatever it was I
could not tell you, — and loaded up on the peas at $1 a bushel.
He lived within 20 miles of Taunton, a city of 20,000 people,
with 20 or 25 good stores, and he brought those peas there and
sold them for $2.25 a bushel, and made more out of that deal
that he made in peas than he did on his own production, because
the distribution wasn't being handled properly. If the people
in Taunton had been able to buy those peas at $1.50 a bushel
they probably would have bought a great many more than they
did at $2.25.

Afternoon Session.
The afternoon session was opened by Mr. Wheeler, who intro-
duced Mr. F. P. Newkirk of Easthampton as presiding oflBcer.
Mr. Newkirk introduced Mr. Leonard G. Robinson, President
of the Federal Land Bank, Springfield, who spoke on "The
Work of the Federal Land Bank."

28 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

THE WORK OF THE FEDERAL LAND BANK.

LEONARD G. ROBINSON, PRESIDENT FEDERAL LAND BANK, SPRINGFIELD,

MASSACHUSETTS.

Last spring, when this nation was submarined into the
world war, President Wilson made a stirring appeal to the
loyalty and patriotism of the American people. To the farmers
he said : —

I take the liberty, therefore, of addressing this word to the farmers of
the country, and to all who work on the farms. The supreme need of
our own nation and of the nations with which we are co-operating is an
abundance of supplies, and especially of foodstuffs. The importance of
an adequate food supply, especially for the present year, is superlative.
Without abundant food, alike for the armies and the peoples now at war,
the whole great enterprise upon which we have embarked will break down
and fail.

The world's food reserves are low. Not only during the present emer-
gency, but for some time after peace shall have come, both our own people
and a large proportion of the people of Europe must rely upon the harvest
of America. Upon the farmer of this country, therefore, in large measure
rests the fate of the war and the fate of the nation.

The President's appeal has electrified the country. It struck
a responsive chord in every heart, and the American people
rose as one to the needs of the situation. The response of
the farmers was immediate and effective. Last year's food
production tells the story.

It is a story without words. Words are inadequate to de-
scribe the almost insurmountable obstacles that the farmer had
overcome, and the great sacrifices he had to make to do his
bit. Shortage of labor, scarcity of seeds and fertilizers, and
the high cost of all instruments of production were only some
of the difficulties he had to face. There is a mistaken notion —
believed in by many who ought to know better — that, be-
cause of the high prices of farm products, the farmers made

Part II.] FEDERAL LAND BANK. 29

fortunes last year and are wallowing in wealth. They do not
stop to consider that what the farmer buys has risen higher
than what he sells.

No. It was not the profits that induced the farmer to do
his utmost. It was his patriotism. The American farmer has
never failed in his devotion and patriotism. He never has
failed to respond with his services, with his resources and with
his life when the country needed them. His patriotism is
clearly reflected in the great number of j'oung men from
our farms who voluntarily answered the call to the colors in
our army and navy. It was shown in his liberal support
of the two great Liberty Loans. It was the same unadulterated
patriotism that made his response to the President's appeal so
effective last year.

Apart from the serious problems I have mentioned, which
the American farmer is facing to-day, there is another problem
of age-long standing, but which in recent years has caused a
great deal of discussion and loose talk. I have reference to
the financial problem.

When the European war broke out, in 1914, the farmers in
this country were given a taste of the precariousness of their
financial position. Mortgages were not renewed, or were called
in, and even those whose experience was not quite so serious
were kept on the anxious seat, not knowing what would come
next. By 1915 the money market eased up. In sections
where the greatest financial stringency prevailed in 1914, and
where farm mortgages were unobtainable or obtained only
with the greatest diflBculty, there was, in 1915, a plethora of
money, and banks and private investors were only too glad to
lend it out on farm mortgages. In a report published that
year, I said : —

Gratifying as the situation may appear on its face, these conditions
are not without grave possibilities. These mortgages are largely demand
or short-term mortgages. Should a financial stringency such as that of
last year recur many of these mortgages would be called in, and many a
solvent farmer, whose security is gilt-edged and who meets his obligations
promptly, would be forced to the wall. The call loan may have its func-
tions, but not on the farm. It is this fast and loose financial game, to
which our farm industry is subjected, that makes the reorganization of
rural credits in the United States most imperative.

30 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

The needed reorganization of our farm mortgage machinery
came none too soon. After an agitation of several years
Congress passed the Federal Farm Loan Act. It was signed
by the President on July 17, 1916. This act has appropri-
ately been called the Magna Charta of American agriculture, —
the charter that has liberated the American farmer from
bondage. This act has been subjected to much criticism both
by friends and enemies. It has been called a Wall Street
measure. It has also been called socialistic, paternalistic and
what not. But to-day sentiment has changed very considerably
in favor of the Federal Farm Loan Act. Excepting in circles
which are clearly irreconcilable, all doubt that may have been
entertained as to the Federal farm loan system has by this
time given way to the realization that the system is here to
stay.

Bankers who had felt that the system was unnecessary, at
least in their own vicinity, have since found it most vitally
necessary to their own stability, and to the prosperity of the
communities which they serve. Country bankers, who feared
that the Land Banks would interfere with their business, find
them, on the contrary, most helpful, and are only too glad to
co-operate and assist in the extension of the system in their
territory. The President of a national bank in a city in
western New York came a distance of over 500 miles to see
how his bank could assist in organizing a National Farm Loan
Association. Another bank in southern New Jersey is actually
expending about $300 in boosting the farm loan system among
the farmers in its country. I could recount numerous other
instances of the whole-hearted co-operation the Land Bank of
Springfield is receiving from national banks. State banks, trust
companies, and private banks.

It was not, however, until our entry into the war that a
keen realization of the true functions of the Federal farm loan
system was brought home to our country bankers. When the
Land Banks started, late last spring, financial conditions were
never more favorable. To-day it is the very reverse. In so
far as mortgages are concerned, especially farm mortgages, the
situation has seldom been so uncertain. There is scarcely a
national or State bank in the United States which is not a

Part II.] FEDERAL LAND BANK. 31

borrower. Savings banks are not making any new loans, and
are drawing in their old ones, while life insurance companies
have exhausted their available funds for some months to come.
The third Liberty Loan, perhaps larger than either of its
predecessors, will be floated shortly. Our financial institutions
must hold themselves in readiness, and are less in a position
to relieve the farm mortgage situation, while the needs of the
farmer were never greater.

The importance of the role played by the farm loan system
in financing our farmers is but faintly indicated in the oper-
ations of the Land Banks. To the first of this month — that
is, in less than nine months — the applications for loans from
farmers aggregated a total of about $250,000,000. Of this,
about $125,000,000 has thus far been approved, and about
$30,000,000 has actually been loaned out. Even in this dis-
trict, where it was claimed that the need of the system was not
apparent, the Federal Land Bank of Springfield has received
applications for loans upwards of $7,000,000, has approved loans
aggregating nearly $4,000,000 and, actually furnished the farm-
ers of this district $1,126,000 for very urgent purposes.

Alongside of the needs of American agriculture these figures
may not appear very impressive. But it must be borne in
mind that the Land Banks are doing pioneering work. As
such, we had to face most of the disappointments, bear many
of the burdens, and suffer some of the hardships that fall to
the lot of every true pioneer. With the Federal Farm Loan
Act in one hand, a charter in the other hand, and the blessings
of our friends upon our heads, we set out to construct what is
destined to become the greatest system of agricultural finance in
the world. Unlike the Federal reserve system, which had some
7,000 well-organized and well-managed member banks to build
on, we had to organize not only our own machinery, but our
member banks — the National Farm Loan associations — be-
fore we could begin business. It was a slow process at best.
There have been crossed wires, loose ends and many unavoid-
able delays. With all that it is gratifying to be able to say
that we have made progress. As we are getting into our stride
the various steps of handling applications for loans will be
accelerated and speeded up. Our best energies are being ex-

32 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

erted so as to make it possible for the farmers to get their loans
in the shortest possible time and at the lowest possible cost.

Of course the present financial situation has created a new-
problem for the Land Banks in the marketing of their bonds,
upon which they must depend for their funds to lend to the
farmers. The security market is all shot to pieces, and the
best of bonds, including government, municipal and railroad,
are being sold at a discount or go begging. This has made it
difficult for the Land Banks to market their bonds as readily
as before, and has given rise to a great deal of nonsensical
comment upon the farm loan system and upon the work of
the Land Banks. The appeal to Congress for relief in the
present emergency has been construed as a confession of fail-
ure. But this is an extraordinary situation, and had to be
met in an extraordinary way. Nobody finds fault with our
financing our allies. Nobody finds fault with our financing
our war industries. Nobody finds fault with our financing
our railroads. Why, then, should we not finance our food
producers?

That the railroads cannot finance themselves is not their
fault. The same is true of the farm loan system. It is not
the fault of the system, nor the fault of the Land Banks, nor
the fault of anybody. The situation was created by the ter-
rible ordeal which this country is facing to-day in its struggle
for righteousness among nations.

The Federal farm loan bonds are a prime security. There
is not a bond in the market that is hedged around with so
many safeguards, or that has so much substantial security
underlying it. There is little doubt but that the Land Banks
will be able to dispose of their bonds if given time and when
the financial situation takes a more favorable turn. Before
the Second Liberty Loan was floated the demand for farm
loan bonds far exceeded the supply. Those bonds are legal
investments for savings banks in over twenty of our States.
I regret that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is not among
them. But I sincerely hope that its patriotism will soon bring
Massachusetts in line.

There is little doubt in my mind that the money will be
forthcoming in one way or another, and that our food producers

Part II.] ' FEDERAL LAND BANK. 33

will not be handicapped because of the lack of adequate funds.
I am not worried in the least about the financial situation.

But I am gravely concerned about the farm labor situation.
Upon no industry has the war made such inroads as upon our
farms. Perhaps no part of our population has furnished so
many voluntary enlistments as our farming population. Of
this we have reason to be proud. But this and the draft has
crippled our farms.

It is not exemption that is wanted. The farmer would be
the last to claim exemption as such. Exemption is repug-
nant to the spirit of leveling democracy, for which we are
fighting. Have the little ones who suffered for the want of
coal during the Arctic weather we had recently been exempt?
Who can say that in their suffering and privations they are
not doing just as much war service as our brave men in the
trenches.

What is wanted is not exemption, but a more comprehensive
extension of the selective draft, so that everybody will have
to do his bit and his best toward winning this war. It is not
the French poilu nor the British Tommy that halted the Hun
hordes on the western front. It is the men who are too old
or too young or physically too unfit, the women and the
children, who did it.

Draft the young men on the farms, by all means, but
assign them to such tasks as will best serve the interests of
the country. Draft the young men in the city and put them,
too, where their services are most needed. Draft the school
children above the ages of fourteen. Close the schools and
colleges March 1 instead of July 1. There is very little study-
ing during these months. It will not lower our educational
standards. It will make better men and women out of 3,000,000
boys and girls, young men and young women, by making them
perform useful war service in the ofiice, in the factory and on
the farm.

As I have said, I am not at all fearful of the financial
situation in so far as our farmers are concerned. But the
labor situation is most discouraging. It is only the drafting
of every man, woman and child into the national service that
can relieve the situation.

34 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

Mr. Ford. I would like to be informed as to what a man
must do, and how it must be done, to avail himself of this
money?

Mv. Robinson. The Federal Farm Loan Act is quite
specific on the subject. We cannot deal with borrowers di-
rectly. We can only deal with them through an organization
of borrowers as intermediary. Now, the first thing to do
is to get your organization; get at least ten farmers together
and organize them — form them into a corporation. To do it
in accordance with the most technical provisions of the Federal
Farm Loan Act, let me tell you, is no joke. It has taken a
great deal of time and has cost us a lot of money to work
out the method. If it had not been for these requisites of
having an association to deal with we could have started lend-
ing money to farmers the first day we organized. Now, first
organize your association. Then let the association — which
has a loan committee of three members — go and examine
every farm. Then let the board of directors of the association
approve every one of those loans; and then you are not
through. You send your applications — each one of the appli-
cations — with the articles of incorporation to the Land Bank.
The Land Bank must then send its Land Bank appraiser —
who is an official of the United States — who inspects the
farms, and when he comes back the board of directors of the
Land Bank take action, and if they approve all those loans,
and find that the papers are all correct, they are forwarded, —
the papers are forwarded to Washington to the Federal Farm
Loan Board for approval and a charter, and we cannot close
any loans until the charter is granted. Now, of course, it
looks quite formidable, but I will tell you something. We
have cut down many of the short corners and a lot of red
tape and we have speeded up our work, and I think that we
have reduced the making of a loan within the last three
months by half. I think we can do better than that, but
it takes a little while to do it. Does that answer your ques-
tion, Mr. Ford?

Mr. Ford. Yes.

Mr. Newkirk. I think there was one thing you omitted,
and that was, after the association was formed, if another

Part II.] FEDERAL LAND BANK. 35

application came in, they did not have to go through all that
red tape.

Mr. Robinson. You tell them, Mr. Newkirk.

Mr. Newkirk. Well, after this association is formed, then
if there are other applicants who wish to come in to the asso-
ciation and get a loan, they do not have to go through all
that red tape that the organization did. They just make their
application to their officers, and it is filed right into the
office and pushed through with much more rapidity than the
charter member organization.

Mr. Ford. I would like to ask you, j\Ir. President, is it
impossible for a man in, we will say, the town of Dalton to
go this morning and borrow money on a farm to be used as
a farming operation unless there has been an organization of
ten.

Mr. Newkirk. Yes.

Mr. Ford. I suppose there is an organization in Pittsfield.

Mr. Newkirk. Yes, there is; there is supposed to be an
organization in about every county. There is an organization
in Pittsfield, one in Greenfield, Shelburne, Northampton, En-
field. Those organizations are already in that western vicinity
there, and you could apply to any one of those organizations
and send in your application, and it would be acted upon and
put through at once.

Mr. Wheeler. I would like to ask Mr. Robinson if he
believes in the proposition that the credit of the bank should
be extended direct to the farmers, so the farmers could apply
directly without going through the loan association.

Mr. Robinson. I will make a confession, Mr. Wheeler.
When the act was before Congress I favored that very step.
I foresaw that the need of an organization of farmers as a
preliminary to getting loans would take time. But these
organizations, these formal associations have worked out so
well, that although it did of necessity take more time than it
otherwise would for making a loan direct, I wouldn't for a
minute advocate, at this stage of the game, the abolition of
these National Farm Loan associations.

Mr. Parsons. I would like to inquire the rate of interest.

Mr. Robinson. That is a very sore spot you touch. Our

36 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

rate of interest when we started was 5 per cent, and we had
to raise it to 5^. There was some doubt in Washington,
when we first determined to have our loans at 5 per cent, as
to the wisdom of that step, but we felt that we ought to try,
and I firmly believe if it had not been for this war we could
have put it through without any difficulty. Then you see the
Germans took it into their heads to sink our ships, and we
had to raise our rate to 51 per cent.

Mr. Parsons. The reason I asked this question was that
the savings banks have lately increased their rate from 5 to
5§. I was wondering if the farmers could make any money
by changing.

Mr. B. W. PoT*rER. I would like to ask if it isn't true that
if a person wants to join this organization in order to get a
loan he hasn't got to buy a lot of shares; and if he hasn't
got to be responsible for all the losses — his share of the losses
• — that may take place on the mortgages that are put up.

Mr. Robinson. Each borrower must subscribe to the shares
of the association to the extent of $5 for each hundred dollars
he borrows. In addition he is only liable to the extent of that
much money again, that is, double liability, just as a share-
holder or stockholder in a national bank is; and that is the
extent of the liability of any one who joins the association,
and no more. We hope when we get going and begin making
money that we are going to pay dividends on our shares. It
was only, I think, yesterday that the Federal Reserve Bank
of New York went into the dividend class among reserve banks
after several years' operation. It will take a little while, but
I think in time we are going to pay dividends on our shares,
just as other banking institutions do. Of course, as soon as
a man pays his loan his shares are retired, and he gets his
money back. It isn't a permanent gift of any kind. It is
simply a purchase of shares, on which we hope to pay divi-
dends, and which is only to remain in the Land Bank as long
as the loan is alive. After you pay off your loan, no matter
when, you cannot keep your shares in there even if you want
to. You have got to take them out.

Mr. B. W. Potter. I should also like to ask what expense
it would be to the applicant to get his loan. I made some

Part II.] FEDERAL LAND BANK. 37

inquiries here at Worcester and I find, if I am correctly in-
formed, that it would take in the neighborhood of $100 for
the applicant for the expenses of getting the loan. In the first
place, you have got to join this local association and become
responsible for the two shares, at any rate. Then three ap-
praisers from the local association must appraise the property.
Then the other appraiser comes from Springfield and he has
got to appraise it. If it is distant, and he has to travel —
for instance, if he went to Maine' — it would be quite an
expense to pay his expenses down and back. And then the
examination of the title and the papers that the lawyers would
make out would cost $50 or $60 more. So I assume a man
could not get a loan under $100, probably, for the expenses
of the loan.

Mr. Robinson. It is pretty hard to say just what the cost
would be to a man to get a loan; but there is no expense in
the examination of a man's farm by the loan Committee. In
many associations no charge was made whatever, and the loan
committee served gratis. In some associations the loan Com-
mittee makes a nominal charge, which doesn't amount to very
much, for the expenses. Now, the appraisal made by the
Land Bank is borne by the bank, not by the borrower; so
that disposes of that part of it. The real expense, the large
expense, is, of course, the examination of title, and that varies
with the practice of the part of the country where the farm
happens to be. I know that in Massachusetts — certain parts
of Massachusetts, at any rate, and in the northern tier of
States — the cost is normal, but not very large. On the other
hand, say, take certain parts of New York and New Jersey,
and it is high, unfortunately. We are doing our best to keep
these attorneys in check, and we are planning — and I hope
in time we will be able to do it — to have our own staff of
attorneys on salary to look after the titles, so that we can
reduce the cost of examination of titles to reasonable pro-
portions. I must admit that in some cases we found that
there were exorbitant charges made by attorneys, and put our
foot down on them. We wouldn't let those attorneys do any
more of our work, but we are trying to stamp this out as
rapidly as we can.

38 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

Mr. Ellsworth. In regard to the bonds, what interest is
being paid, and how many of the western States have legalized
them for savings banks and other banks?

Mr. Robinson. The bonds — that is, the last few issues of
bonds — bore the rate of 4^ per cent. They were sold to the
public at 101^, which placed it on somewhat like a 4j basis
for five years. Just what the rate of interest will be in the
future it is hard to say, but we hope we will be able to main-
tain, — especially with the government underwriting, which is
certain to come, of $100,000,000, — we will be able to main-
tain the 4| per cent bonds and will not have to increase our
interest rate on those bonds. As far as the number of States
that have legalized the farm loan bonds as savings bank in-
vestments I could not give you all the names. I know there
are something like 23, of which three are in this district,
that is, Maine, New Hampshire and New Jersey. The others
haven't yet come into line. When I sat down Mr. Holland,
president of the Plymouth County Trust Company, suggested
that I had better say something about amortization. When you
consider that a loan you have from a bank or private in-
vestor is likely to be called in at any time, and then you
have to seek another man to take your mortgage, each time
you do this it means expense, — new lawyers, new bonuses or
what not. Now, here you have a loan for thirty-six years,
and you are relieved of all worry and of all expense for that
length of time. Besides, you repay your loan in small annual
annuities or payments, — which they call amortization, — and
by increasing your rate, that is, adding to the interest rate of
5 or 5| per cent, 1 per cent more, your loan will be repaid,
principal and interest, in the space of thirty-six years. So
when you take everything into account you will find, — even if
the rate of interest on the loan of the Land Bank is as high or
perhaps a little higher than those mortgages received from other
sources, — you will find that in the end it is much cheaper.

Following Mr. Robinson's address Mr. Newkirk introduced
Mr. Charles P. Holland, President of the Plymouth County
Trust Company, whose subject was "Short-Time Credit for
Farmers."

Part II.l

SHORT-TIME CREDIT.

39

SHORT-TIME CREDIT FOR FARMERS.

CHARLES P. HOLLAKD, PRESIDENT PLYIHOUTH COUNTY TRUST
COMPANY, BROCKTON.

This department has for its object the application of business
methods to the business of agriculture. We believe if the
farmers are lax in their methods, or are failing to use all avail-
able means for improving their conditions, the fault is in large
part with the banker.

Acting upon this conception of the duty and opportunity for
community service to this most important element in every
community, the Plymouth County Trust Company has for the
past three years employed two young men, graduates of the
Massachusetts Agricultural College, for the purpose of studying
the needs of the farmers in our city and vicinity, presenting
these needs to the directors of the bank, and so preparing the
way for intelligent and business-like application of credits to
the solution of their problems.

The following report of the agricultural agent to the directors
shows in outline the result of our endeavor for two vears : —

Visits made,

. . 2,166

Office calls,

. 2,586

Telephone calls,

. . 1,870

Letters WTitten,

. 2,643

Miles traveled by autos,

. . . 35,315

Meetings addressed,

87

Approximate audiences at meetings, .

. 2,942

We have brought into the city 24 cars of grain, 29 cars of
hay, 11 cars of cows (300 head, worth approximately $55,200),
2 pure-bred bulls, distributed around 1,000 pigs, and exliibited
last year 41 pigs and 7 cows at the Brockton Fair, and 4 pigs
at the National Dairy Show at Springfield.

40 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

We distributed 28 high-grade heifers to boys and girls, organ-
ized 3 co-operative buying associations, supported a home
economics advisor and a modern tenement in the Lithuanian
district, where cooking lessons are given twice a week, and
published a cook book in Lithuanian, of which we have dis-
tributed 1,000 copies.

Our pig club was one of the first activities and has proved a
very valuable and educational work. Our second year's member-
ship was secured almost wholly by advertising on the part of
members of the previous year's club. The boys and girls as-
semble in a vacant lot in the city, where the pigs are distributed
to them. They pay for them by notes with interest, which the
bank accepts without other security.

Most of the pigs were taken home in bags. One of the
interesting sights was that of over 75 boys and girls sitting on
the sidewalk curbing waiting for the distribution. One electric
car going out of the city contained 38 pigs and their owners.

This last summer, with approximately 500 pigs distributed
throughout the vicinity, in order to advise and assist the children
in their endeavors the services of a third man were required.

A prize of $100 is offered to the boy or girl producing the best
result in pig raising, this money to be available only in case the
winner should go to some agricultural college or domestic
science school. In this way we have endeavored to stimulate a
desire on the part of the child for an agricultural education.

The future of the boy who won the prize the first year has
been wholly changed. He had planned to leave school and go
to work, but because of his success in the competition he has
decided to go to an agricultural college, and already has a small
bank account to his credit for that use. Last year a girl of
Russian parents and a most unpronounce^ible name won the
prize.

Our club produced over 67,000 pounds of pork, which had a
market value of more than $9,000. The average profit per pig
was $6.58, making a total profit to the members of $2,500.

Our dairy project by its growth seems to certify as to its
value. Above we have given the number of high-grade cattle
brought into this section. Of this number 34 are pure bred,
and we find a growing demand for such stock.

Part II.] SHORT-TIME CREDIT. 41

One man who has 7 of our cows, out of a total of 13 in his
herd, has the highest producing herd of grade cattle in our
vicinity. Practically all who have kept records have made an
average of over 10,000 pounds of milk per cow per year. The
average production in Massachusetts is somewhere near 5,000
pounds. A few of our grade cows have given over 80 pounds of
milk per day; several over 70 pounds. These records were prac-
tically unknown before w^e began shipping in this class of stock.

For a long time farmers have been urged to buy higher pro-
ducing cows, feed more balanced rations, keep records and to
know whether or not each individual cow was profitable. We
have helped to accomplish these things in numerous cases.

After a year of thorough investigation and endeavor to con-
vince the dairy men of the wasteful competitive delivery of
Brockton's daily supply of milk, some of the over-lapping
routes have been abolished. Under the title of the Producers'
Dairy Company 88 farmers have combined their entire output
of milk, and are handling it through a central pasteurizing and
delivery plant.

The company is capitaHzed for $150,000, with $100,000 in
common stock and the remainder in preferred. The initial sub-
scription totaled $50,000.

Contracts for building and equipping a model dairy plant
have been let, and completion of the building is expected some
time in November.

The business of the company will in time be extended to in-
clude the production of every commodity that milk or cream
will make, and the marketing of the combined produce of all
the farms; besides which, co-operative buying will be extended
to practically cover the whole field of purchasable supplies.

Our co-operative buying is a very valuable feature. Since a
year ago February there have been bought in this way 33 cars of
grain at an average saving to the farmer of about $5 per ton.
Reckoning the car as containing 20 tons (and we have had
several cars of 30 tons), this makes G60 tons at a saving of over
$3,300. One farmer acknowledged that he had saved enough
money to pay the wages of a hired man for a year. On the last
2 cars in Easton, aggregating 52 tons, there was a saving of
over $8 per ton.

42 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

We have extended the co-operative buying to include hay,
fertihzers and Hme, and have saved about $5 per ton by this
method on everything except the hay. There has been pur-
chased by this means a total of 55 cars of supplies.

We also plan to piu-chase seeds and other farm supplies,
having disposed of over 2,7p0 bushels of seed potatoes which
were brought direct from Maine to be distributed in small lots
to those interested in the home-garden project.

We have had a market gardener, who is a graduate of the
IMichigan Agricultural College, draw plans for a home garden,
suggesting dates and varieties of vegetables, which, in his
opinion, would be the best for this section. We have had 4,000
of these "Garden Manuals" printed and distributed in 12 shoe
factories of this city holding meetings at the noon hour, and
have addressed in this way over 2,000 men on the subject of
home gardens.

The market gardener spoken about above was a young man
to whom we advanced a credit of $300 two years ago when he
was starting in business. Last year his net profit was $2,000,
and he has been gracious enough to attribute his rapid advance
to the assistance given him by this bank.

As a climax to our extensive home-garden campaign, we have
established a community canning plant so that the natural
surplus from the many gardens might in no way be wasted.

Produce for canning is received three days a week, and the
canned goods are ready for distribution the next day. Every-
thing is supplied and done at the plant except the initial wash-
ing and cutting. A charge of 7 cents a pint and 8 cents a quart
is made, allowing a very noticeable saving in canning goods
when glass jars alone are costing around 8 cents apiece.

In charge of the plant is a young man who has won several
state prizes in home garden and canning work. Every spring
we have assisted him in his garden work with a small loan.
This year he covered the entire loan with his first contract sale
of tomato plants. He is assisted at the canning plant by a
Framingham Normal School girl and four others.

New people are constantly coming to us for advice about
agricultural affairs, and we are urgently advising them to secure
small places on the outskirts of the city wherever possible.

Part II.] SHORT-TIME CREDIT. 43

since we feel it is better for the community as a whole that as
many of those citizens as can do so be self-supporting in the
matter of vegetables and the like.

The fact that over $2,000,000 worth of food supplies were
brought into the city of Brockton in one year will show that
there is large need in this industrial center for more food to be
raised at home.

We are showing the farmer how to keep cost accounts, how
to make out statements, — in short, to know his business, both
from the technical and from the business standpoint. Through
this department we expect to reach every family who may be
interested in farming or home gardening, and whenever such
persons are found worthy small loans are made to be used for
constructive work, or for improvements under the supervision
of our agents.

Evening Session.
The evening session opened with Mr. J. Lewis Ellsworth,
former secretary of the Board, in the chair. Mr. Ellsworth in-
troduced as the speaker Governor John Burke, United States
Treasurer, who gave a very interesting talk on war loans.

Second Day.
At 10 o'clock on the second day the Massachusetts Dairy-
men's Association held its annual meeting and was addressed by
Richard Pattee, Secretary, New England Milk Producers'
Association, on ''What Organization has done for the Milk
Business."

44 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

WHAT ORGANIZATION HAS DONE FOR THE MILK

BUSINESS.

RICHARD PATTEE, SECRETARY NEW ENGLAND MILK PRODUCERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The successful operation of any plan or enterprise depends
largely upon two things: first, the opportunity or necessity
for the enterprise itself; second, the intelligence and enter-
prise of its management.

Recently an effort has been made to perfect an organiza-
tion of milk producers on a New England-wide basis. Local
organizations dealing with separate markets have appeared and
disappeared. With a growing urban population, creating a
constantly larger market for dairy products, there has been
a decreasing rural population, a decreased proportion of dairy
products, and an actual decrease in the number of cows in
New England of nearly 20,000 per year, for a period of several
years. The market-milk industry has been going from bad to
worse. Attempts more or less successful in localities have been
made for improvement, but there has been no cohesion be-
tween these separate attempts, and most of them have died
aborning.

There are three classes of markets for milk in New England:

First. — That W'hich depends largely on a far-distant supply
brought by rail.

Second. — That which depends in part on a local supply
supplemented by railroad shipments.

Third. — That entirely relying on local production.

Different conditions in different markets have led to differ-
ent business practices on the part of dealers. Until within
a year different dealers in the same market have had different
practices wuth respect to the purchasing of their supply, ac-
cording to the conditions in the locality where the supply was

Part II.] WTIAT ORGANIZATION HAS DONE. 45

purchased. There has been no uniform system in the same
market, or between markets, in the purchase of milk in New
England. The same concern previous to August 1 may have
bought milk in a dozen different ways for one market, and no
two buyers in a dozen markets might be buying the same
way. Prices, methods of handling, credits, transportation,
arrangements and other things with respect to the country
end of the milk business were confusion thrice confounded.
For illustration, a recent survey in New Hampshire by L. ]M.
Davis of the Bureau of Markets, United States Department
of Agriculture, shows that during the year 1916 four different
dealers buying milk in New Hampshire paid, respectively, per
8§-quart can, 35.58, 34.25, 37.5 and 32.41 cents. What chance
had the dealer who was paying 37f cents for any competition
with the dealer who bought milk in the same locality for less
than 32| cents?

In eastern Maine milk was bought largely by weight and
test. In southern New Hampshire it was bought by the can
without regard to test. In Maine, where milk was bought by
weight and test, so much was paid for the butter fat and so
much for the skim. In northern Vermont, where milk was
bought by weight and test, the average price was paid for
3.7 or 4 per cent milk, with a premium for excess butter fat.
There were thirteen different ways in which milk was bought
for the Boston market.

In the matter of credits, some dealers paid every day, some
every w^eek, some semi-monthly, others monthly and some not
at all.

It will be absolutely impossible in a statement of this char-
acter to convey any adequate idea of the confusion that
existed in New England. It was the custom for the large
dealers at certain times to announce the prices they would
pay for milk during a subsequent period. This was sometimes
done through a formal six months' contract, sometimes on a
month to month basis, sometimes during the middle of the
month, and sometimes at the end, but always the price was
announced by the dealer, and the farmer could take it or
leave it as he saw fit.

It is no wonder that under such a system, or lack of system,

46 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

the industry was in a pitiably decadent condition. Every
man making market milk was complaining of his losses and
hoping to get out. Hundreds and hundreds of farmers had
tried it and quit, and the fellow who still stuck was an object
of pity and solicitude.

The milk question became the subject of frequent contro-
versies and discussions in public gatherings, Legislatures and
the like. Newspaper agitation and other forms of publicity
kept alive antagonism between producers, distributors and
consumers. There was no recognition of a community of
interest between the parties concerned. It was everybody for
himself and the devil for us all.

As a result of some study of the whole situation a plan
was devised for the organization of the industry along business
lines, with the purpose of placing it on its feet and of pro-
tecting not only the dairy, but general agricultural interests,
and encouraging the maintenance of live stock on New England
farms through reasonable prices for live-stock products.

The question was what form such an organization should
take. After considerable study and months of discussion a
temporary voluntary organization was established under which
over 8,000 men pledged themselves by their signatures to
associate with others in a co-operative selling movement,
through which the milk of all should be sold as the milk of
one. It became necessary under the laws of Massachusetts to
procure a special act under which to incorporate the organiza-
tion as a co-operative marketing proposition. Under this form
of incorporation the association has a legal existence, can own
property, sue and be sued under its own name, and members
are relieved of individual liability. It is limited by law in the
expenditure of any profits that may accrue to their use in
promoting the industry which it represents. It can never
declare dividends to its members, however great its assets.
It is divided roughly, corresponding to the counties of New
England, into county associations, which in turn are divided
for convenience into local groups, with a county and a local
president and secretary in each case. In this way leaders,
selected by the membership, in all localities are available
through whom communication may be maintained with the

Part II.] WHAT ORGANIZATION HAS DONE. 47

central office. This arrangement furnishes workable machinery
for close, intimate and quick communication between the
central organization and its membership everywhere.

The association is supported by the payment of a $1 fee
from every person who joins, and the payment of one-half of
1 per cent of the selling price of the members' dairy products.
The per cent is largely collected through the dealers, who are
instructed by the members to pay to the association whatever
their percentage amounts to from the monthly milk check.

When one starts for a place the main thing is to get there.
It does not make so much difference whether one goes in the
front or the back door, so long as he is in the house. The
future of an organization is to be determined by the service
rendered, rather than by the method it employs; so the value
of an organization can be best determined by its accomplish-
ments. Some of us for years have been preaching the doctrine
of foundation principles. We have held that price in itself
was a secondary consideration; that the more important things
were the proper adjustment of the foundations on which price
was based. The first thing a man does when he builds a
safe building is to go down into the ground. He is seemingly
going the wrong way, but if he starts at the surface and builds
up, the structure which was intended as a protection may be-
come a menace. The only way it can be made to serve its
purpose of protection and safety is to put under it a strong
foundation.

Therefore it has been deemed important that the arrange-
ments on which price was based be first established. Over a
year ago the interstate commerce commission laid New England
out in zones of 20 miles. No matter what price is set for
milk it will vary each 20 miles, according to the varying cost
of getting it to market.

The dealer will pay more for near-by milk over far-off milk
to at least the extent the near-by milk costs less to get to
market.

There is a psychological value in publicity. We have main-
tained that it is good public policy for the consumer to know
what milk costs the distributor laid down in market per quart.
The fact that the consumers know, not how much the farmer

48 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

gets at his farm, but how much he gets dehvered in the market,
creates a friendhness between consumers and producers, and
prevents an extortionate advance by the dealer over the price
the producer gets. In all the larger cities it was determined
to establish prices on the basis of so much per quart delivered
in the market.

It was impossible to carry into effect much of the asso-
ciation's program on April 1. Producers generally had ex-
pressed the desire for winter prices for summer milk. This
meant an advance of approximately l| cents over the average
paid for milk in the corresponding months of the previous
year, according to the best information that could be obtained.
It was finally determined that an advance of Ij cents per
quart should be made over the 1916 prices. This arrange-
ment did not in the least alter or amend the inequalities and
discriminations of former years as between individuals and
localities; it simply perpetuated them on a higher basis. The
1st of August the association had grown to such strength that
it was able to practically dictate a complete revision of the
marketing system and the price at which milk should be sold.
.This price was fixed at 7 cents delivered in Boston. From the
7 cents were taken transportation charges and other expendi-
tures necessary in delivering milk to Boston. These were: —

1 . Hauling from Farm to Station. — The contractors had
created a system under which hauling averaged to cost about
$5.50 per ton. The producers whose milk was hauled paid at
the rate of $3 a ton, the balance being taken out of the gen-
eral price of milk. The association opposed this deduction,
but allowed it for two months rather than disturb the then
necessary hauling system. Under the arrangement of October
15 hauling charges have been entirely removed from the price
of milk. It is now up to the producer to deliver his milk at
the railroad station. If the contractor hauls it for him he has
to pay the contractor whatever price is agreed between them,
no part of the cost of hauling being taken out of the general
price of milk in any zone.

£. Country Station Expense. — A large part of the milk of
New England is collected by milk stations, where it is wholly
or partially processed, is cared for and prepared for shipment

Part II.] \YHAT ORGANIZATION HAS DONE. 49

and billed out in car lots, or otherwise, by the representative
of the purchaser who owns the plant and equipment. Where
such country milk stations are maintained they are a part of
the necessary expense of getting milk from that section to the
market. In other places where a large volume of milk ap-
pears for direct shipment the dealers have employed a local
agent to inspect and weigh the milk, bill it out and assist in
loading. The services of this man are a part of the necessary
expense in getting that milk to Boston. The charges for
country milk stations and agents were allowed as a deduction
from the price of all the milk in the zone where such stations
or agents existed. Under this plan, wrong in principle and
harmful in effect, up to April 1 the producers in a whole zone
are paying for the operation of the milk stations in that zone,
whether they have the service of such station or not, for
instance; in the State of ]Maine there may not be a single
milk station in the tenth zone, while in the State of New
York there may be a dozen, but the Maine farmers are taking
less for their milk to meet the expense of operating the milk
stations in New York. The association believes in and is
working toward the localization of milk station charges, in the
belief that the cost of operating each station should be charged
against the milk that passes through that station. If I could
have my way it would appear as a specific charge on every
milk bill. I hope the time will come when the farmers who
pay for these stations will realize they are paying for them
and want to own them.

3. Can Service. — It is a lamentable fact that if the three
great milk companies of New England — the Hoods, the
Whiting interests and Turner Center — should withdraw their
cans from the milk service, thousands of tons of milk would
perish in the country while hundreds of people in the city
would be going without. These concerns absolutely control the
only way in which this perishable commodity can be moved
from its source of origin to the point of consumption. Neither
the public nor the producer is protected under this arrange-
ment. The dealers might almost as well own the cars. In
years past one of the great wastes in the business has been
the loss of tinware in the country. At present prices that loss

50 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

has tremendously increased; no person is quite as careful of
some other fellow's can as he is of his own. If the farmers
owned or had to pay for each can they used less cans would
be required, and fewer would be used for sap and molasses.
On the basis of sale delivered at market it was necessary to
provide a system of containers for the shipment of milk. It
was therefore arranged that an allowance of .0005 be made
for the use of cans. It was impossible to distribute this cost
equitably between the producers, the outer zone producers
requiring much larger can service.

^. Railroad Transportation. — The transportation charges vary
on the different lines of railroad entering Boston, but inasmuch
as the vast majority of milk consumed is shipped on the
Boston & Maine, or lines having joint rate arrangements with
the Boston & Maine, the Boston & Maine Railroad rates were
used as a basis on which transportation deductions should be
figured, with the understanding that if any other railroad was
actually used, rates on it should be allowed. The railroad
rates not only vary in amount for 20 miles, but they vary
according to the size of the container in interstate transporta-
tion. The arrangement with the dealers is that they shall pay
the freight and deduct the actual amount from the producer's
check. The association announces a price of so much a quart
f.o.b. market, and then figures out the deductions, notifying
the farmers in each zone what price per can or per hundred
weight is awarded to him at his railroad station.

Early in the year market divisions of the main association
were formed in five cities other than Boston, and committees
of producers sending milk to those markets, with a member of
the main association sitting in, established prices after more or
less harmonious conferences with the dealers.

In nearly all places it was a new and not altogether welcome
thing for the farmers to call in the dealers, and through a
committee negotiate a trade for milk. But be it said to the
credit of the dealers that nearly everywhere they have recog-
nized that the old day of individual bargaining, the haphazard
catch-as-catch-can trading, has passed. Gradually but surely
they have come to see that their business as well as ours is
being helped by the establishment of a system under which

Part II.] ^^'HAT ORGANIZATION HAS DONE. 51

success in " trimming " the farmers is not the measure of
success in handling milk, but rather it is efficiency in managing
their part in the operation of distribution. In the outside
cities contract periods have been shifted to correspond with
Boston practice, prices have followed very closely Boston
prices, and the relationship between Boston and the rest of
New England has been wonderfully cleared up by inter-
communication.

In dollars and cents the increase of If cents per quart
brought to the producers of New England something like
$100,000 a week for the months of April, May, June and
July. Just how much of this was due to organization must be
a matter of conjecture. Intimate knowledge of the negoti-
ations and of the first offers of the dealers leads me to believe
that at least one-half the increase was directly due to the
producers being to some extent organized, ready to fight for
what they believed right, and represented by a committee they
were ready to back up.

The slogan for the summer had been "winter price for
summer milk," and the advance of 1^ cents did not quite
make it in some sections, due to the readjustment of the
zones on a 20-mile basis. For example, the line between jNIan-
chester and Centre Barnstead, New Hampshire, had been in
a one-price zone. Under the 20-mile system it divided into
three, in that nearest Boston there was a slight increase in
price over the winter schedule; in the middle section the price
was practically the same as in winter; while in the outer
circle there was a considerable reduction.

This breaking up of old price equalizations caused some
confusion and misunderstanding. Time and printers ink, how-
ever, did much to iron out the troubles. But during the late,
cold spring there appeared a very insistent demand for a price
revision upward. Even though much milk had been contracted
for on a six months' basis, and though the pastures were flush
and production higher than normal, the association opened
negotiations that resulted in an increase of practically a cent
a quart over what had been agreed on in the spring for the
months of August and September. But important as this in-
crease was, it was of far less value than the general revision

52 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

of the buying system. It was brought about that prices should
be made as of market dehvery from every part of New England;
that deductions from the city price should be made represent-
ing the actual cost of moving milk from every railroad station;
and that the price at such stations should be the price at the
city less the actual cost of getting it there. In addition, a
liberal extension of the territory where milk is bought on
weight and test was made, and a uniform test basis of 3.5
per cent instead of 3.7 per cent to 4 per cent was established.
The rate for butter fat was raised from 3 cents per point to
3| cents. Lesser reforms were accomplished, but the most
sweeping revision and standardization of buying systems ever
made in New England was made August 1, 1917. In fact, it
was the only general revision ever made, for previously the
system had, like Topsy, "just growed." Personally, I regard
the reformation of the buying system as the most important
and profitable work the organization has done for the dairy
farmers of New England.

The history of recent activities is too familiar for rehearsal.
Suffice it to say that though under pressure from local and
Federal authorities we have once been held for two weeks
without gains, and once set back a half cent for two months,
subsequent developments have proven the wisdom of the asso-
ciation in both cases, and to-day New England milk producers
are in our judgment far better off than they would have been
had they defied authority, asserted their rights by main strength,
and incurred the financial and other losses that would have
followed a fight.

But what of the future? No wise man will value his accom-
plishments by the past alone. What he has done should fit him
for doing more and better things. And in this view may we
not for a moment consider the nature and importance of a few
of the problems this organization of farmers must tackle and
solve if it is to be hereafter worthy of the start it has made?

First. — Strong in every State, the Milk Producers Associ-
ation should have a legislative policy in every State that
would dovetail into the general scheme of marketing milk in
the city centers. This program should include standard and

Part II.] WHAT ORGANIZATION HAS DONE. 53

uniform systems of sanitary inspection, weighing, sampling and
testing, standardization, grading and the Hke.

Second. — The association should, by a well-managed and
properly financed plan, continuously advertise the merits and
value of milk and milk products as a food. Strange to say,
there is less space and effort given to the sale of this com-
modity at less than cost and less than value than there is to
the sale of diamonds. If half the effort were made to sell
milk that is made to sell beer, an industry that is worth
while might be revived and a people made better.

Third. — The organized farmers must tackle and solve the
surplus problem. That looks like a big contract, but it may
be simpler than we think. Surely the regulation of milk flow
to seasonal demands is to the extent it can be accomplished
wholly in the hands of the producers. The producers them-
selves should, in my judgment, own and control the facilities
for handling and the processes for marketing the milk and
milk products that are now turned over to the contractor at
a less price because he cannot or will not sell them as whole
milk. Detailed discussion of this problem is not pertinent
here, but I venture the hope that the size of the problem will
not scare the producers, for they are the ones to solve it, and
as they are now the sufferers under it they will be the bene-
ficiaries in its solution.

Afternoon Session.
The Beekeepers of the State met at 1.30 p.m. in Horticultural
Hall for the purpose of discussing the formation of a State-wide
organization, and at the same hour, in the Hotel Bancroft, Dr.
A. W. Gilbert, Secretary, Committee on Agriculture, Boston
Chamber of Commerce, delivered a lecture on "The Cost of
Milk Production in New England."

54 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

THE COST OF MILK PRODUCTION IN NEW ENGLAND.

AETHUR W. GILBERT.

The American farmer is probably passing through one of the
most uncertain periods that tillers of the soil have ever seen or
ever will see. With millions of men withdrawn from productive
labor the farmer feels the responsibility of feeding much greater
numbers than ever before. He feels handicapped, however, by
reduced numbers in his own ranks as the result of his sons join-
ing the army, or the added competition from other industries
which already feel the pinch of lack of labor. The farmer feels
uneasy, moreover, during a price-fixing program. He must look
ahead. If he cannot feel sure of the price of the work of his
hands he obviously will have much hesitation to go forward
with additional production. Farmers, as a rule, have not funds
to stand losses.

The war has upset all economic practices. Ordinarily the
law of supply and demand is sufficient to care for the regulation
of most kinds of business, but at a time like the present even
this old standby cannot be relied upon. Certain it is that there
is demand and there is supply, but there is also opportunity for
profiteering and restricted selling and various other kinds of
manipulation which makes it possible to fleece the public and
the farmer almost at will.

As a remedy for this the United States government has en-
tered upon a price-fixing program which seems to be the only
feasible remedy in times of such an emergency. It is one of the
most difficult pieces of work which has ever been attempted.
During a long series of years merchandising comes to a stage of
comparative equilibrium, and when this equilibrium is broken
up by artificially fixing the price of any one article or a group
of articles it immediately reacts upon the others; for example,

Tart II.] COST OF MILK PRODUCTION. 55

the price of wheat has been fixed, which is intended to protect
all parties concerned, especially the consumer. Under this ar-
rangement farmers are not able to receive the price which they
would otherwise get for their wheat. At the present moment
the price of corn is so high, and consequently the price of pork,
which is largely dependent upon it, that some farmers are prac-
tically forced to feed wheat to hogs rather than sell it at the
price fixed by the Food Administration; therefore this wheat,
instead of being sent to our Allies, where it should go, is being
consumed at home in other forms than flour. This is merely
one illustration of the result of a price-fixing program. Of
course this is only temporary, and will be adjusted in a few
weeks when new corn is more abundant.

What has all this to do with the cost of producing milk? It
has a great deal to do with it. In the first place, the making of
milk is in reality a manufacturing process. We ordinarily speak
of dairymen as producers, but as a matter of fact they are
middlemen, or, perhaps more correctly called, manufacturers. I
have attempted to illustrate by means of a diagram which is
intended to show graphically that dairymen ordinarily purchase
raw material in the form of concentrated feedstuffs, fertilizers,
farm machinery, seed and the like, and convert this, in one way
or ajnother, through the medium of their machinery, that is, the
dairy cow, into a relatively finished product, — raw milk. In
practice this raw milk is usually sold to large dealers who in
turn continue this manufacturing process by pasteurizing,
bottling and delivering the milk to the public. Therefore the
farmer is dependent primarily upon the prices of raw materials,
which he usually buys. As a result, if the price-fixing program
or the law of supply and demand or any exigencies force the
supply of raw material or labor to unusually high levels the
price of milk must be correspondingly increased.

How are farmers as manufacturers going to know what price
to place upon their manufactured products if they do not have
information concerning the cost of the raw material and the
different expenses entering into the conversion of that raw
material into a finished product?

These war times are necessitating every industry to have
more accurate information in regard to the costs of running its

56 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

business than ever before. It is necessary in a price-fixing pro-
gram to get at, first, all of the cost of production of a certain
article. The necessity of production-costs has been especially
apparent in the hearings before the Federal milk commissions,
where the first thing to be determined was the cost of produc-
ing milk.

The committee on agriculture of the Boston Chamber of
Commerce anticipated the necessity of having accurate informa-
tion on these points, and instituted a plan last summer to ob-
tain the cost of milk production in New England. It suc-
ceeded in interesting the committees on public safety in the
different States, and also the agricultural colleges, to assist in
carrying out this program, — the committees on public safety
furnishing the funds, and the agricultural colleges supplying the
experts to do the field work. This work has been completed
and a summary is now published in bulletin form. The details
for each State* will doubtless be published by each agricultural
college. This has already been done in some of the New Eng-
land States. The following tables summarize the figures for
New England, and give the different items for Massachusetts: —

Part II.] COST OF :\IILK PRODUCTION.

57

Table I. — Average Cost of Producing a Quart of Milk, by States.^

Accord-

Accord-
ing to
Boston
Chamber
of Com-
merce.

De-
cember,

1917*
(Cents).

Accord-

State.

1916
to May,

1917

(Cents).

Sep-
tember,
1917 =

(Cents).

ing to
U.S.D.A.

Standard
Method.

Sep-
tember,

ing to
U.S.D.A.
Standard
Method.

De-
cember,

Average

Pro-
duction

per Cow-
in Tliis
Survey

Average

Pro-
duction
per Cow,
Census
of 19103

19173

(Cents).

1917
(Cents).

(Pounds).

(Pounds).

Maine,

.0562

.0630

.0696

.0662

.0728

5,749

3,S23

New Hampshire,

.0403

.0525

.0595

.0567

.0623

5,944

3,758

Vermont, .

.0490

.0562

.0619

.0594

.0654

5,337

3,982

Massachusetts, .

.0647

.0746

.0812

.0769

.0846

5,005

4,525

Connecticut,

.0553

.0671

.0718

.0682

.0750

6,009

4,188

Weighted average.

.0531

.0587

.0644

.0619

.0682

5,605

4,0.55

Number of farms, 850. •

Number of cows, 15,000.

Number of o.uarts of milk, 40,325,587.

The above figures represent costs at the country railroad station.

Labor. — The cost of labor was based on the provaihng wage, as shown by telegrams received
from the agricultural colleges of each State, December 15.

N. B. — The above costs are figured on the basis of year-round costs, which included summer
pasture. The cost of producing milk from cattle is, therefore, increased or decreased, depending
whether or not pasturage is available.

' Boston Chamber of Commerce Survey.

2 Based on grain at S56 per ton, the average New England retail price as obtained from 60 retail
dealers in New England for kinds of feed approximating a balanced ration. Labor charge not
increased above those of summer of 1917.

3 The principal difference between the United States Department of Agriculture standard
method of making the survey and the Chamber of Commerce survey is that the former has added
10 per cent, to the net cost per cow per year for managerial ability, business risk and miscellaneous
overhead charges.

* Grain based on price for feeds approximating a balanced ration as sliown by quotations of
December 15. Average, $60 per ton.

58

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[P. D. 4.

Table II. — Cost of Milk Production, ]\IassacJnisetts, Dec. 31, 191',

Total Cost
per Cow
per Year.

Feed: — ■

Grain, 2,430 pounds at .SCO,

Hay, 3,661 pounds at S16.69

Salt hay, 718 pounds at $10, ...........

Corn stover, 478 pounds at S7.65, ..........

Silage, 4,098 pounds at 86, . . . . . ' .

Green feed and other succulents, 1,408 pounds at ?4.50, .....

Pasture, ...............

Labor: —

Man labor, 150 hours at $0.280

Horse labor, 9 hours at $0.20,

Other costs: —
Depreciation on cows, ............

Interest on cows, .............

Taxes and insurance, ............

Veterinary service, drugs and disinfectants, ........

Bull service, ..............

L'se of buildings and water, ...........

Bedding, ...............

L'se of equipment, .............

Ice,

Miscellaneous, ' .............

Total costs, .............

Credits: —

Manure (8.1 tons at $2.50), $20 25

Calves (.85 calf at S6. 34) 5 39

Total credits,

Net cost

Managerial ability, business risk and dairy overhead, 10 per cent, net cost.

Final cost per cow (production, 5,005 pounds; 2,327 quarts).
Cost per quart: —

Chamber survey (cents), ...........

Standard method^ (cents), ...........

872 90

30 55

3 59

1 S3

12 29

3 17

5 47

43 35

1 80

6 91

4 90

1 53

83

3 40

6 82

1 01

1 67

1 £3

1 31

$204 56

$178 92
17 89

8196 81

.0769
.0845

' The total miscellaneous for the 323 cows was as follows: Electricity for motors, 8125; artificial
light, 871; salt and stock feed, $73; paid for hauling milk, 869; testing, $55; association fees and
dues, $29; fly spray, $5; and changing stock, $5; total, $423.

2 Standard method includes 10 per cent, for managerial ability, business risk and miscellaneous
overhead charges.

Part II.] COST OF ]MILK PRODUCTION. 59

This survey was made by experts going to the farms of the
best farmers throughout New England and obtaining as accu-
rate information as possible directly from their books. In some
cases certain estimates were necessary, but these were made
as conservatively as possible. The element of guesswork was,
therefore, practically eliminated. It will be seen by referring
to Table II. that the various items of cost which enter into any
manufacturing business have been considered, such as interest
on investment, depreciation, labor, business risk, managerial
ability and the like. These field men also obtained quantity
figures as far as possible, that is, figures which deal with the
amount of feeds of various sorts which are fed to their dairy
cows, the number of hours of man labor and horse labor, and
items of this sort. If these are definitely known it is a rela-
tively easy matter to supply the present costs and keep the
survey constantlj^' up to date. Since this survey was made it
has been brought up to date several times for the use of various
milk commissions.

It has been objected to surveys of this kind that they are out
of date even before they are completed, and therefore useless.
In the case of the ordinary survey jt has been argued that the
price of such an article as milk should be based on the selling
price of the different factors which enter into it; for example,
the price of pork at the present time is based upon the price of
corn. Of course, this is a proper basis for price fixing, and we
have attempted to take cognizance of this in this survey, and
have made it in such a way that while it is not definitely based
on an automatic relation between the cost of milk production
and the cost of feed, labor, etc., yet the latter can be easily
substituted in our figures and constantly brought up to date.

These costs have also been summarized for the different States
on Table I., and a weighted average has been made which takes
into consideration the relative amount of milk which comes into
Boston from the different States. Obviously, it is not fair to
consider the States equal when one is concerned with the price of
milk in Boston, because very much more milk comes from Xer-
mont and New Hampshire than from Massachusetts, for example,
and the cost of producing a quart of milk in Massachusetts is
much higher than in the other New England States.

60 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

It is hoped that dairymen will be impressed with the impor-
tance of keeping accurate records, not only at a time like this,
>A'hen it is absolutely essential, but at any other time. Farmers,
in order to be successful, must be more and more businesslike,
and no business of any considerable size is run successfully
without the keeping of accurate accounts. Of course, in most
lines of business it is possible to employ expert bookkeepers who
can do this work. A farmer ordinarily cannot do this, and
must of necessity be his own bookkeeper. He is very busy
during the day, and finds it in many cases difficult to keep his
books at night, when he is tired. Therefore he should seek a
very simple method of keeping these books which will occupy
only a minimum of time, but be reasonably accurate as well.
The agricultural colleges of New England have been working on
this problem, and each college has issued a book which has
seemed satisfactory for this purpose. However, it seemed de-
sirable to have a uniform book throughout New England and
make this as simple as possible. To this end the Chamber of
Commerce has called together some of the agricultural experts
from the different agricultural colleges in New England and
asked them to work out a very simple account book which
could be used uniformly throughout New England. This has
been done. It is hoped that the farmers of New England will
adopt this book and use it very extensively. It is distinctly to
their advantage to do so, especially in these war times when
production costs are essential.

I believe that the Massachusetts dairy interests could not do
a better piece of work to place the dairy industry of this State
on its feet than to make a drive for keeping of records by all
dairy farmers.

Mr. C. J. Grant. I would like to ask Dr. Gilbert if he
thinks the 10 per cent, managerial ability and business risk
which is allowed is sufficient to enable a man who has good
ability in running a business proposition to go into the business.
For instance, suppose a man runs a 30-cow dairy; how much
does he get out of that 10 per cent after he takes out the busi-
ness risk for his managerial ability?

Dr. Gilbert. In answer to that I want to sa}^ in the first

Part II.] COST OF MILK PRODUCTION. 61

place, these figures provide for interest on his investment.
That is an addition to the 10 per cent. They provide for his
labor as an ordinary laborer; and then they provide for this
additional 10 per cent as remuneration for his managerial
ability. Now this 10 per cent does not include profit. That is
another, distinct matter. These are the things which actually
enter into his cost, and then, in addition to these various items,
there is the element of profit which may or may not exist —
usually doesn't exist as we know the business at the present
time. I should say in direct answer to Mr. Grant's question
that if a farmer can receive a price for his milk as indicated in
these figures, I think there is sufficient inducement for him to
go into the business; and I believe that if the milk-producing
industry were on this basis, and farmers were actually getting
these costs, it would attract capital into the business. But, of
course, in the past capital has not been attracted to the busi-
ness for the reason that farmers have not gotten these costs.
The question was asked in the State House, before the Fed-
eral Milk Commission recently, if farmers are losing money as
they claim to be, why do they stay in the business? And the
answer is that most farmers would like to sell their farms, but
nobody will buy them. They stay in the business because
they have farms on their hands and they have to. Now that
may or may not be true. I presume it is true to a certain ex-
tent. Obviously, farmers have not been getting the prices in-
dicated here. If they have not, have they been losing money?
Now, that question has been often asked. Are they losing
money? Most farmers haven't very much money to lose.
They haven't been losing money as such, but they have not
been receiving adequate pay for their labors. That is the re-
ply. They have not been losing money by having it in a bank
and giving it away in one way or another. There are some
economic considerations here which we, as dairymen, have got
to face. In the first place, it is a relatively easy matter to
produce more milk than the public can or will consume. It is
easy to overproduce milk, and if this matter were based en-
tirely on the law of supply and demand I presume that at the
present time we could not expect prices like this. Incidentally,
it is going to be very interesting to see what is going to happen

62 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

with these prices in the next six months. I understand that
certain things are already happening; that the price of milk
which comes into our cities as milk is so far above the price of
milk which goes into butter that, of course, there is a tendency,
obviously, for that milk going into butter to seek a milk mar-
ket. It would naturally do that. You and I, if we were pro-
ducing milk to go into a butter factory, and we were getting
two-thirds as much as the other fellow was getting, would nat-
urally try to seek the whole milk market. Now, that will per-
haps take place. We have got to face the facts. If it does
take place, then there is going to be a considerable overproduc-
tion of milk as far as the milk market is concerned.

Mr. Harwood. Let me ask you right there, can that take
place under the present conditions in Boston?

Dr. Gilbert. Let me answer that by asking you why can't
it take place?

Mr. Harwood. It is up to the contractors, as good business
men, to take care of their surplus, and they must carry a cer-
tain surplus, as any business man. They should not carry
more than a certain surplus. Therefore they should cut it off
at a certain point.

Dr. Gilbert. That is true. For the next three months
that is the only solution as I can see it. The contractors ought
not to buy more milk than they can use. But, of course, even
in spite of that, if you knew the big difference between the two
kinds of milk, that other milk is going to seek that market in
some waj^ or other, and it is going to find that market in one
way or another eventually. In the next three months it won't
do it presumably, but in the long run it is bound to do it. Of
course, if it does, if all this milk comes into the whole milk
market which is now going into creameries, what is going to
happen? There is a proposition which we have all got to put
our minds on pretty carefully. Two or three solutions have
been suggested. They are probably not complete solutions at
all. One is that, as has been mentioned, the contractors ought
not to buy more than they can use. I do not feel that will be
the finah remedy. I do not know what it is going to be.

Mr. Harwood. The final remedy is to educate the people
to the truth; not put out to the world in books, pamphlets.

Part II.] COST OF MILK PRODUCTION. 63

etc., that the food value of oleomargarine is the same as the
food value of butter, when it is not true. It is only true so far
as the calories are concerned. If you touch a match to either
one you would get probably the same result in calories, but if
you put the same stuff into the stomach of a person you would
get different results. There is one man to-day who is going
down in history with a record ecjual if not superior to that of
Dr. Babcock, — a man of his class, — and he is Dr. McCor-
mack of Johns Hopkins University. There is a man who is
getting at the truth. There is a man who has told the world
that a growing animal can get about 66 per cent, for instance,
of the protein out of milk, while in other foods it gets only
from 17 to 30 per cent. Now, any man knows, who has ever
had experience in feeding calves, that there is nothing that will
make the calves grow and develop like new milk, fresh milk —
absolutely nothing on the face of the earth to take the place of
it. At the last National Dairy Show, Columbus, Ohio, there
were experiments being carried on right there before our eyes
of feeding rats. Those growing rats that were furnished with
milk fat were thriving and developing and growing rapidly;
those that were fed on vegetable fats were wasting away, and
actually dying — the rat there on his back with his toes turned
up, dead, in the experiments. Dr. McCormack has carried on
experiments of this kind. I do not want to go into this. I
haven't time to give you a lecture on the food value of milk,
but that has got to be done, and we have got to drive this
home to the people, — the food value of milk is there. Fifteen
cents a quart for milk is cheap. There isn't a man or woman
capable of doing a day's work, capable of buying any food who
cannot pay 15 cents a quart for milk if it is delivered to them
on a silver platter. Of course, if they are going to send the chil-
dren to get it, that is a different thing, but the first thing they
should buy is something that will develop the child, and that is
milk. The first food that should be bought with that 15 cents
is milk, and then if you have got any more, buy something else,
and let the moving pictures and tobacco and rum come down
to the other end of the column.

Dr. Gilbert. Is there anything which we can do as a body
of dairymen to help out the situation? It seems to me that

64 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

economically the producers of an article, as well as the sellers
of an article, should advertise it, and I should like to see this
Dairymen's Association face this. I should like to see you if
you deem it wise, put a small fund into this. I want to say a
large fund, but I know you haven't got it. Perhaps you will
have after you have been getting a respectable price for milk
for a while. I would like to see the producers put some money
into the advertising of the food value of milk, hand in hand
with the dealers. The dealers are ready to do this, and I hope
the producers are ready to do it. And this leads me to say one
other thing. In an industry of this sort the producers and the
dealers ought to work hand in hand, I have seen, with a great
deal of regret in the past, one over against the other. Now,
obviously, you men have got to fight for a decent price for
milk, and the distributor, on the other hand, has got to face
the public. Now, gentlemen, don't forget that; he has got to
face the public. There is no object in your producing milk
unless that milk can be sold, and I assume that when the dealer
tries to bargain with you and get your milk at as low a price as
possible he is trying to keep the price of milk to the public as
low as possible, because he must depend upon volume of busi-
ness. I am not attempting to defend the dealer, nor am I at-
tempting to defend the producer. You are both right and you
are both wrong. But anyhow, what has got to be done in the
long run is for producers and dealers to get together and work
this business out. All should go to the public with one front,
and the dealers should not go with one story and lay it on to
the producers, and then the producers go with another story
and lay it on to the dealers. You go to the store and buy
almost any article, I do not care what it is, and if it happens to
be high in price you don't find the storekeeper laying it on to
somebody else in the business. He is wise enough to protect all
the elements in that business. And I believe we have got to do
that in the milk business. I am inclined to think that the milk
dealers are ready to meet milk producers more nearly halfway
than they ever were before, and I am inclined to think from my
observations that milk producers are inclined to meet dealers
more nearly halfway than ever before. Do everything possible
to get the confidence of the consumer; then you are going to
dispose of your product ^'ery much more easily than at the

Tart II.] COST OF jMILK PRODUCTION. 65

present time. Because, say what you will, we have got to face,
as Mr. Harwood has said, the ultimate sale of milk, and if the
ultimate sale of milk can be increased, then the product which
we are making can be increased; but if the ultimate sale of
milk cannot be increased, then there is no immediate object in
making it. We have got to go in the last analysis to the con-
sumer. And I should like to see some sort of an advertising
campaign put forward in which the dealers and the producers
join so as to regain — I say ''regain" advisedly — the confi-
dence of the consumer and get him to use more of his product,
even at a higher price, because we all know milk, even at this
higher price, is the cheapest food the consumer can buy; there
is no question about that. It seems to me it is equall}- the
duty of the producer to do this as it is the distributor. It
isn't fair to put the burden over on to somebody else. You
put it on them, they put it back on you; nobody seems to want
to shoulder it. If we shoulder it together, it seems to me we
are going to get somewhere.

Mr. Bartlett. It seems to me that in the advertising cam-
paign there has been one proposition left out, and that is the
proposition of the protein in milk and the products of protein.
To-day very little is said about the consumption of cheese;
the price of protein in cheese is cheaper than in any other food.
Mr. Harwood, have you any data on that?

Mr. Harwood. Yes, it is a very cheap food; yes, cheaper
than meat, on the average. I do not want to take up too
much time, but really, I got so much interested in this question
of food values I thought I would try a few personal experi-
ments, and last spring I made up my mind I would. I thought
I would cut out meat and substitute milk and foods that con-
tained milk, — in which milk had been cooked. Now, if we
eat plenty of butter and cheese and food with milk in it —
anything in which milk or milk products form an important
part — we can get along and get all the animal protein we
want and get it much better. By doing this I reduced my bill
at the restaurant 33| per cent, and if I buy raw milk in that
restaurant it costs me 40 cents a quart.

Following Dr. Gilbert's talk Mr. E. R. Root of Medina,
Ohio, read a paper on "The Importance of Honey Production."

66 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HONEY PRODUCTION.

E. R. ROOT, MEDINA, OHIO.

Last August I stood on the Brooklyn docks, New York, and
saw 2,000 tons of honey — a whole shipload — going to Europe.
Two thousand tons! It seems like a large amount. To the
uninitiated it might look as if that were more than the pro-
duction of the entire United States. As a matter of fact, this
one shipload of honey was only one of several, how many, I
do not know. It has been estimated that the entire annual
production of honey in the United States is somewhere be-
tween 200,000,000 and 300,000,000 pounds,^ or seventy-five
times as much as what I saw on the docks representing one
shipload. In dollars and cents the annual production of honey
for the United States at present prices would amount to be-
tween $40,000,000 and $60,000,000.

There are several large factories engaged in the manufacture
of beekeepers' supplies, one of which has an investment of
over $1,000,000. There are thousands of beekeepers who are
producing honey by the carload in the United States. These
large producers are located mainly in the western States;
California will produce 500 cars of honey, Colorado and Texas
will produce nearly as much. While honey is produced largely
in the eastern States, it is on account of the greater population
consumed locally.

The question may be raised, "What is Europe doing with
so much honey that she requires it in shipload quantities?"
The answer is easy. Sugar is scarce. Where it can be bought
at all it is bringing over there all the way from 60 to 70 cents,
and even $1 a pound. The immense sugar beet fields of
Europe have been devoted to growing grain crops. Germany

> This, loaded on freight cars, would make one solid train 100 miles long.

Part 11.] HOXEY PRODUCTION. 67

has practically no sugar; and her common people, at least,
have to depend on saccharine, — something that has absolutely
no food value, but, on the contrary, is regarded as a cumulative
poison.

There is likewise a scarcity of sugar among the allies, not-
withstanding that five times as much has been shipped from
the United States and the West Indies to Europe as was
shipped before the war.

The only other substitute for sugar that has any food value is honey.
Not enough honey is produced to supply the shortage of sugar, either in
the United States or in Europe. Unlike sugar, honey, up until recently,
could be bought in slxiy quantity provided one had the price. "When the
war started in, in 1914, prices on honey began to sag. The very finest
liquid clover honey could be had in car lots at 5^ cents, and some of the
southern grades were begging for customers at If and 2 cents a pound.
To-day the best table extracted clover and alfalfa, and mountain sage,
is bringing 20 cents in car lots, where it can be had at all, and there is a
probability of its advancing higher before the next crop is ready. This
means that the average farmer or back lot beekeeper owning a few bees
can get in a retail waj- from 25 to 30 cents for extracted honey, and from
40 to 50 cents a pound for his comb honey. This is on the supposition
that he knows the market and does not give his honey away at the old
prices that prevailed during peace times.

There never was a tmie in the history of the world when there was a
greater demand for sugar and honey than now. Except in limited local-
ities the average farmer cannot grow the sugar beet; but every farmer
can keep bees anj-where in the United States. It becomes, therefore,
a patriotic duty on the part of every citizen, whether he owns a farm
or whether he has a back lot where he can keep a few bees, to help
make up for the sugar shortage by producing hone3% No matter
what we hear about the sugar shortage being relieved, it is as sure as
fate that sugar will be scarce; for the vast quantities that are being
shipped to Europe, where prices are higher than here, will make the
commodity scarce in this country, and of course will create a strong
demand for honey.

But there are other forms of sugar besides those found in
the sugar cane and the nectaries of flowers from which the
bees gather their sweets. The sugar in fruits is in the best
form possible for direct assimilation. Like honey, fruit sugar
is more easily digested than cane or beet sugar. It likewise
becomes a patriotic duty of every citizen of the United States,

68 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

whether he is a farmer or a backlotter, to grow all the fruit
he can, as well as honey.

At this point it is pertinent to ask how the beekeeper can
make more and better fruit. I do not need to say to some of
the farmers facing me to-day that it is necessary both to spray
and prune the trees in order to get the maximum of fruit.
It is necessary to spray to kill the codling moth and the
San Jose scale. It is necessary to prune and prune so that
fruit may be grown instead of firewood. In other words, the
energies of the tree should be concentrated on the fruit and
not on the wood. But that is not all. The little honeybees,
which I have the honor to represent to-day, perform a most
important part in pollinating fruit blossoms in early spring.
What do I mean by pollinating? I mean this: There are cer-
tain plants and trees that need cross-fertilization the same as
some of our live stock. That simply means this: That the
pollen of one blossom must by some means — wind, rain or
insects — be conveyed to the blossoms of another variety. A
perfect flower has male and female organs. Some flowers have
only the male and others only the female organs; and in many
and most cases where both sexes are represented in the same
blossom, a better fruitage is secured when the pollen of several
varieties are mingled together.

Professor F. A. Waugh, one of the greatest authorities on
fruit growing in the United States, and a professor at your
Agricultural College at Amherst, has repeatedly made the
statement that but little pollination is effected by means of
wind and rain; that most of it is effected by insects, mainly
the honeybees. There are certain legumes — the clovers (white,
red, peavine, alsike and sweet) — that cannot develop seed
without the agency of the bees. Experiment stations have
shown everywhere that when limbs or whole trees of certain
varieties of fruit are covered with mosquito netting before
coming into bloom, but very little fruit will mature. The ex-
periment is more striking when a single limb of a tree is cov-
ered with mosquito netting. Where the variety is sterile to
its own pollen, only about 2 per cent of fruit will mature on
the covered limb, while the rest of the tree will have the
normal amount. As there are very few insects flying in early

Part II.] HONEY PRODUCTIOX. 69

spring except the bees, it is clear that the bees do practically
all the work.

As many farmers within the reach of my voice have buck-
wheat or some of the clovers, and as many others are growing
some fruit, a few specific instances that have come under my
observation may not come amiss at this time to show how
bees make more seed and more and better fruit.

In the vicinity of Glassboro, New Jersey, there are some-
thing like 5,000 acres of apple, peach and pear orchards. The
fruit growers in that vicinity have learned that it pays them
to give a bonus to the local beekeepers at the rate of S5 a
colony for putting bees in their orchards onl}' during the time
the trees are in bloom, Albert Repp (one of the most ex-
tensive growers in the vicinity) in the "Country Gentleman"
about two years ago said: "I would no more think of trying
to grow apples, peaches and pears without bees than I would
think of trying to get along without spraying or pruning."

South of Boston, cranberries are grown in a large way.
When the cultivated bogs were small it was observed that good
yields of the berries could be secured; but when the acreage
had been increased the crop kept getting smaller and smaller
per acre. It was finally discovered that there were too few
bees in the vicinity of these large bogs. When enough bees
were put around the bogs, the yield of cranberries became
normal again.

There is a 50-acre apple orchard about 10 miles north of
my home in Medina, Ohio. For years this orchard was neg-
lected, and yielded scarcely 500 bushels per year. It finally
came into the possession of a practical fruit grower. He began
spraying and pruning, and then he said he wanted me to put
some bees on his place. I did so, furnishing one colony to the
acre. What were the results? The first year he secured 16,000
bushels of apples, all of them perfect. The next year he se-
cured 12,000 bushels. Owing to the help of the bees he had
from 5,000 bushels during the poorest year up to 16,000 during
the best.

At a large cherry orchard just east of INIedina, Ave put some
bees. The spring of 1917 was quite chilly and backward.
There was only an hour or two when the bees could fly during

70 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

the blooming period. The result was that during the summer
only those trees that were in the immediate vicinity of the
hives yielded a good crop; and those trees directly over the
hives had the best yield. It had been so cold that the bees
could fly only short distances in blooming time; from this it is
very evident that the trees that the bees could reach were the
only ones that had any fruit of any consequence.

In one of my western trips I learned that there was in the
Pejario valley, near San Jose, a 15,000-acre apple orchard where
it was said there were no bees, and no bees needed. This was
news to me. I made an investigation and found bees in the
vicinity, but probably not enough to pollinate the entire 15,000
acres. I called on the horticulturist, and asked him why he
did not have more bees. His answer was somewhat significant.
He said: "Mr. Root, the two varieties of apples we grow here are
the Downing and the Belleflower. They are fertile to their own
pollen and therefore we do not need any bees." Then he
added: "If we were to put bees in the locality the trees would
be broken down by the weight of the fruit. We have to hand-
pick as it is, because so many apples start. If we put bees
here, there would be too many apples,"

Most of the varieties of apples, at least some of the finer
ones, are either partially sterile to their own pollen or are
entirely so. Where this occurs bees are needed to fertilize the
blossoms. The result is that the fruit growers all over the
United States are asking for bees. In many cases they are
willing to pay a bonus to get the bees in their orchards. Bees
are being shipped every spring from the southern States to the
northern orchards to pollinate the fruit trees. Sometimes they
come in car lots, and at other times they are sent in packages
of 1, 2 and 3 pounds by express.

What is true of the northern fruit orchards is true to a
lesser extent with the citrus orchards of the southland. Fewer
bees are needed in an orange grove because the weather is
warm and the period of blooming longer. In the northern
orchards the work of pollinization must be done in a few hours,
or at most in two or three days, hence more bees are required
per acre.

Some twenty-five years ago I gave an address before the

Part II.] IIOXEY PRODITTIOX. 71

American Pomological Society, Buffalo, on the subject of "Bees
as Marriage Priests," and I then could plainly see that there
was some opposition to the bees on the part of the fruit
growers. To-day one can scarcely find an up-to-date grower
who does not welcome bees — the more the better.

Coming back, then, to our original proposition of growing
more sweets or more sugar it is plain to be seen that if bees
produce something like §50,000,000 worth of honey every year
in the United States, they are actually contributing to the
wealth of the country by making more and better fruit
to the extent of possibly $100,000,000 worth. Taking it all
in all, the little bee is no small factor in contributing to the
wealth of the country, and, what is more, helping us to win
this war.

Perhaps it may be said, "Why all this furore about sugar?"
The facts are, sugar is just as necessary for a balanced ration
in the human family as meat, eggs, wheat, or any of the staple
grains. Sugar is an energy producer. In our great cities the
poor people are suftering for the want of sugar. They have a
distinct craving for it. That is the reason why our soldier boys
from the trenches are willing to pay at the canteens in France
$1.10 a pound for honey. Certainly nothing is more exhaust-
ing than trench work, and therefore it becomes the bounden
duty — yes, the patriotic duty — of every citizen of the United
States to help feed not only the soldiers but a hungry world
by supplj-ing one of the necessary food elements — sugar — in
the form of honey or fruit juices. If you have ever deprived
yourself for just thirty days of sugar, in all forms, such as
cake, pies, pastry, candy, etc., you will find that you have a
ravenous appetite for it. There is no doubt that in ordinary
times we eat too much candy; but during this period of war
we cannot get too much sugar in the form of honey or fruit.

Now I am coming down to the vital question: Ought the
farmer or backlotter to keep bees, and, if so, can he? Most
emphatically I say yes to both questions. Nay, more, — it is
his patriotic duty. It is just as easy to keep a few hives of
bees as it is to keep a few chickens. What one farmer has
done, others can do. If there is going to be a shortage of
sugar this year and next, then it is up to the beekeeper and

72 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

his family to raise their own sugar by keeping bees. Honey
can be used in almost any way that sugar can. It can be used
for sweetening coffee and tea, for canning fruit, for making
cakes, and for making candy. Indeed, one of the large baking
companies, I have been told, has been buying honey by the
hundred-car lots. These concerns have discovered that a little
honey used in connection with sugar makes a cake keep soft
and moist. Without honey or invert sugar, they will become
dry and unsalable. It is safe to say that practically all of the
cakes and cookies in the groceries and in the bakeshops con-
tain a little honey.

Now, then, if honey can be used in place of sugar, can the
problem of swarming be handled by the farmer? Yes. There
are textbooks now that show how this can be done. In your
own State of Massachusetts, at the Agricultural College at
Amherst, you have for teaching beekeeping one of the best
schools on the entire continent. Indeed, Massachusetts leads
off and stands in the very forefront in the instruction it is
giving on bees. Any farmer's boy or daughter can take the
course at the college.

The average colony of bees will cost somewhere about $5.
At the present prices of honey to-day, that colony, if a normal
crop be secured, can bring back in value between 400 and 500
per cent. Indeed, I believe I am safe in saying there is nothing
on the farm, for the money invested, not even the hog business,
and that is going some, that will yield larger returns. When a
$5 investment in a fair year can bring back to its owner as
much as $25, show me something on the farm or back lot that
will do better. The chicken business cannot do it, because
the price of feed is nearly up to the price of the eggs. I have
been told that a number are going out of the poultry business
because the price of feed is so high. But in a fair season the
bees find their own food, and then turn around and give the
owner the surplus.

I do not wish to imply that there are no losses or failures
with bees. Some winters they die; some seasons they have
to be fed to keep them from starving. Some years they will
not produce any surplus honey. But is there anything on the
farm that does not fail some seasons?

Part II.] HOXEY PRODrCTIOX. 73

To recapitulate: We can produce sugar on our farms and
in our town and city back lots by keeping bees. We are
advised by the United States Food Administration to keep a
pig to help a starving world. It may look as if I were prompted
by selfish motives when I say that the same money invested
in bees will actually go further. A pig pen in a town is often
and generally unsanitary. It is a breeder of flies and disease.
A few hives of bees in every back lot and every fa;rm are not
only not objectionable from a sanitary point of view, but will
actually save millions of dollars in sweets that are now going
to waste in the fields because there are no bees to gather them.
Dr. E. F. Phillips, bee expert in the Department of Agriculture,
Washington, District of Columbia, says that at least ten times
as much honey could be secured, where there are no bees, as
there is now. In most localities there are few or no bees. It
is our duty to supply sweets, and honey and fruit sugars are
the most wholesome of them all.

While Mr. Root was speaking in the Hotel Bancroft, Dr. H.
A. Harding of the University of Illinois addressed the Massa-
chusetts' ]\Iilk Inspectors' Association in the council chamber,
City Hall, on ''How may the Inspector know when a Milk is
good," and Dr. George M. Twitchell of Auburn, Maine, de-
livered his lecture, "The Significance of a Kernel of Corn," in
Horticultural Hall.

74 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

HOW MAY AN INSPECTOR KNOW WHEN MILK IS GOOD.

H. A. HARDING.

In childhood we slowly reason out the merits of each indi-
vidual case, but later, by using definite standards, we quickly
and easily settle the cases as they arise. We find that the
simpler these standards are the easier they are applied. It is
usually so much quicker and simpler to pace off the distance
between two neighboring points than to apply measuring in-
struments with vernier readings that we commonly use the
former, though the latter method is vastly more accurate.

As dairy inspectors, our superior officers and the public ex-
pect us to decide that a given milk is good, medium or bad.
So long as they have confidence in our judgment they have only
a mild interest in the means by which we arrive at our conclu-
sions.

Since the beginning of milk inspection in Massachusetts in
1856 the milk inspector, like every other mortal, has been
searching for simple standards by which to decide his problems.

Standards of Food Value.
In the earlier years his attention was centered upon the
chemical composition of milk. A study of normal milk gave
approximate values for fat and solids not fat. Relying upon
the lactometer and the Babcock test, he pronounced milk good
or bad. The underlying idea in this work was excellent, as
these tests throw light upon the food value of the milk. Un-
fortunately, this line of work led to the establishment of mini-
mum standards. While these minimum standards offered a
basis for punishing skimming and watering, they have had an
unfortunate and unexpected result in that they have standard-

Partll.J MILK INSPECTION. 75

ized practically the entire milk supply downward. The results
from your own laboratories show that under the influence of
these minimum standards the average food value of Massa-
chusetts milk is undergoing a steady and noticeable change for
the worse.

Standards of Healthfulness.

When the dairy workers became conscious of the health
aspect of the milk question, they saw that chemical standards
had little relation to healthfulness. In the last decade of the
last century attention swung sharply to the tuberculin test as a
milk standard. Perhaps nowhere more vigorously than in
Massachusetts this test was urged as the important standard in
milk inspection. Experience gradually made clear that what-
ever the merits of the tuberculin test — and they are many —
there was little prospect that its use would soon become so
general as to offer any distinct protection to the public milk
supply.

Partly on account of this failure of the tuberculin test, and
partly because we became conscious that the health of the con-
sumer was menaced by other diseases than tuberculosis, we
have turned to other means of protection. Beginning in 1893
and reaching significant proportions, about 1900 the certified
milk movement undertook to guarantee the healthfulness of
milk through a combination of tuberculin test and medical in-
spection of the persons coming in .contact with the milk. The
experience of twenty years has shown that this supervision is
fairly efficient, but at the same time too expensive to apply to
the general milk supply.

About coincident with certified milk, pasteurized milk began
to be discussed. The early practices in pasteurized milk were
so unsatisfactory from the standpoint of the dealer, the con-
sumer and the sanitarian that the practice early fell into disre-
pute. Pasteurization, as I observed it in connection with city
milk supplies up to about 1900, may be fairly characterized as
a fraud. Starting at about 1900 with the work of Theobald
Smith and of Russell and Hastings, the pasteurization of milk
at 140° to 145° F. for thirty minutes marks a new era in milk
pasteurization. Gradually the students of milk hygiene have

76 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

come to a practically unanimous verdict that for simplicity,
safety and economy there is no other method of safeguarding
the healthfulness of the milk supply which compares with
proper pasteurization.

Standards of Cleanliness.
The civilized man is clearly distinguished from the savage by
the care he exercises in providing clean food, and there is per-
haps none of our food products regarding the cleanliness of
which we are more particular than that of milk. This is per-
haps in part due to the color of milk and the distinctness with
w^hich any foreign matter in milk stands out against the white
background. Because of the sensitiveness of the purchasing
public, dirt in milk is usually present in very slight amounts,
approximating 1 part in 1,000,000. Such slight amounts prac-
tically defy ordinary analytical methods, but early in the pres-
ent century attention of milk inspectors was generally drawn to
a device called the sediment test. This was a simple device for
removing the foreign matter from a given sample of milk —
usually a pint — and presenting it to the eye upon a back-
ground of white cotton. For a time this test quite captured
the attention of the milk inspectors and those interested in
milk improvement. The picture presented by a sample of rela-
tively dirty milk was quite startling. However, as soon as this
was brought to the attention of the milk producers and hand-
lers, dirt practically disappeared from the milk. As a result the
usefulness of the sediment test as a means of further improving
the milk supply seemed at an end, and the sediment test has
been almost forgotten.

Standards of Keeping Quality.
Both the public and the inspectors in their attempts at char-
acterizing good milk have been mindful of the length of time
that the milk would remain •sweet and otherwise unchanged;
that is, the keeping quality of the milk. It was early learned
that the sour taste can be detected in milk at about the time
it will titrate .3 per cent calculated as lactic acid. Accord-
ingly it has long been the practice to consider milk that will
titrate .2 per cent as beginning to be of doubtful keeping

Part II.] UILK INSPECTION. 77

quality. Unfortunately this titration standard serves merely to
indicate the fact that the milk will soon become bad, but does
not serve to distinguish between good and medium milk. Be-
cause of these limitations to titration standards, attention in
recent years has been directed toward bacterial counts as
standards of milk quality. It is interesting to note that during
the vogue of each of the standards already discussed, they have
been used by at least a portion of the inspectors as practically
complete standards of milk quality. Bacterial standards are
no exception to this rule. Many have confused the presence of
large numbers of bacteria with the probable presence of disease
germs. I take it that all of you are familiar with the fact that
the ordinary methods of determining bacterial counts throw
absolutely no light upon the presence of disease germs. The
mere presence of large numbers of bacteria in milk has been
taken by some as sufficient evidence that the milk is unwhole-
some. On the other hand, it is coming to be a fairh' universal
custom to consume as health-giving beverages milk drinks con-
taining millions per cubic centimeter of the very organisms
which characterize commercial sour milk. The majority of us
are conservative enough to think that for baby feeding, at least,
milk should be preferably of a low germ content. However, one
needs to experience but a few controversies between the baby
specialists who champion high and low bacterial milks, respec-
tively, before deciding that it is better not to be dogmatic even
on this phase of the subject.

Recognizing that quantitative bacterial content standards bear
no direct relation to the healthfulness of milk, many efl'orts
have been made to find some qualitative bacterial standards
which might serve this purpose. B. coli standards similar to
those used in water work were early illustrations of such eft'orts.
The recognition that B. coli is a constant inhabitant of even
the most scrupulously clean milk, and may easily increase in
such milk to high numbers, destroyed its usefulness as a
standard of healthfulness or cleanliness. Other attempts have
likewise failed, so that at present we do not have either quan-
titative or qualitative standards of bacterial content which
throw much light upon the healthfulness of milk.

There is perhaps no belief regarding bacteria which has been

78 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

more widespread than that the presence of excessive numbers of
bacteria was a pure index of dirt in milk. When we consider
the insignificant amount of dirt present even in the dirtiest
milk, we are forced to admit that the numbers of bacteria
which could by any stretch of the imagination be carried into
milk by such amounts of dirt could not raise the germ content
of milk by any significant amount. On the other hand, careful
studies of the routes by which bacteria actually enter milk have
made it plain that they ordinarily enter by way of the dairy
utensils, and bear no relation to what we ordinarily characterize
as dirt.

If the bacterial content cannot be accepted as an index of
healthfulness or of cleanliness, it is fair to inquire why it has so
strong adherents, particularly in Massachusetts, where Boston
led off in the matter of bacterial standards for city milk. The
answer is that bacterial counts are a good index of the probable
keeping quality of milk, and the consuming public have always
ascribed especial importance to this quality. The American
public is not satisfied with anything short of a sweet milk.

Selecting Standards of Quality.

In presenting these matters I have sought to show that the
inspector in his attempts to determine the quality of the milk
has made use successively of a number of standards. Each of
these standards has measured some one of the essential quali-
ties which should characterize good milk. His desire for sim-
plicity of standards has led him to use them one at a time, or,
at best, in combination of two standards, such as chemical com-
position and germ content. The insufficiency of this method of
treatment is too evident to need discussion. If we are to ac-
curately inform the public regarding the goodness or badness of
milk we must frankly admit the complexity of our problem,
agree as to what are the essential elements of goodness in milk,
and then agree upon some applicable standards of these quali-
ties.

If the preceding analysis of what has been striven for during
the past half century of milk inspection is correct, the essential
qualities of a good milk may be collected under four heads, —
food value, healthfulness, cleanliness and keeping quality. Any

Part II.] MILK LXSPECTIOX. 79

sample of milk markedly deficient in any one of these qualities
cannot be fairly characterized as good, while a sample possess-
ing a good measure of all of them is fairly entitled to be called
good.

Recognizing these qualities in the abstract is of little value to
the inspector unless they can be determined with regard to a
given sample of milk. Fortunately, the experience of the past
fifty 3^ears is also helpful at this point.

Food Value. — There are three quite distinct aspects of the
question of food value of milk. Milk along with a few other
substances contains considerable amounts of substances called
vitamins, which are peculiarly important in the growth of the
infant. The presence of these vitamins makes possible the
healthy development of the child upon milk as the sole source
of food. As yet there is no available method of measuring the
amounts of these important vitamins present in any given
sample of milk, though they seem to be universally present in
all fresh milk.

In the growing child not only must these vitamins be present,
but if muscles are to be formed the materials out of which
muscles are formed must also be at hand. Most important
among these materials are the nitrogenous elements commonly
called the proteids. The nitrogenous portions of milk are
known to be an especially desirable source of these proteids,
but the available knowledge concerning the transformation of
proteids into tissues does not yet offer simple and satisfactory
standards for expressing this aspect of the food value of milk.
The third and more general aspect of the food value of milk is
as a source of energy. The energy basis or the calorific l)asis is
the aspect of food value which can be readily and accurately
determined, though the determination is a somewhat technical
one. By suitable means it is possible to determine not only
the calorific value of milk as a whole, but also the value of
each of the component parts of the milk. Such studies have
shown that the calories in milk are not a fixed quantity, but
depend upon the chemical composition of the milk. A quart of
normal 3 per cent milk affords about 547 calories, while a
quart of 5 per cent milk yields about 775 calories. Fortunately,
for the purposes of .the inspector, the calorific value of normal

80 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

milk varies in direct proportion with the fat content. The
depth of the cream line in the bottle is a fair index of the fat
content, but in the Babcock test we have a simple and accurate
method of determining the fat content of any given sample of
milk. For our purposes, then, the fat content of normal milk
can be taken as a satisfactory standard of food value. Milk at
present prices is practically the cheapest food of its class avail-
able to the American public, and it is our duty to emphasize
this fact.

HeaJthf Illness. — Much has been said about the dangers lurk-
ing in our public milk supply. It is my own feeling that too
much has been said, and as a result the public and many of its
official representatives have an unreasoning and unreasonable
fear regarding disease in milk. Some of the most sane and
helpful writings on this subject have come from Dr. E. R.
Kelley of your own State. After going into the records of
various milk-borne epidemics with my students, and presenting
the facts in detail so that they may have an appreciation of the
danger involved, I am accustomed to tell them that the prob-
ability of their contracting disease from a single glass of milk is
about the same as the probability of their being killed on their
next railroad journey. At first blush this will seem to you like
' belittling the danger in milk. If you reflect that there are ap-
proximately 100,000,000 people in this country the majority of
whom use milk in some form every day, while a much smaller
number go upon the railroads each day, and in the light of this
comparison contrast the number killed upon the railroads with
those contracting diseases from milk, the illustration will seem
more appropriate. Neither should we conclude from the illus-
tration that no care should be exercised in the supervision of
the healthfulness of the milk supply. We all agree that our
railroad accidents are altogether too numerous, and they are
kept to the present limits only by watchful supervision. Like-
wise, we have. too many milk-borne epidemics, and we must in-
crease, rather than lessen, our efforts at their prevention.

While tuberculin testing and medical supervision of the ani-
mals and men connected with milk production is a possible
method of safeguarding the healthfulness of the milk supply,
practically the same results can be obtained at far less expense

Part II.] MILK INSPECTION. 81

through proper pasteurization. Proper pasteurization, coupled
with medical supervision of the milk plant men, is coming to be
recognized as a further step in advance. When the public milk
.supply has been properly pasteurized and delivered with reason-
able promptness, it is to be fairly considered as one, of the very
safest of our human foods. The dairy inspector who is de-
voting his efforts to a careful supervision of milk pasteurization
is in a way to accomplish more in safeguarding the healthful-
ness of the milk supply than can be accomplished at present by
the same amount of effort expended in any other way.

Cleanliness. — Fortunately little more needs to be said at
this point. The sediment test is simple and well understood.
When in the occasional instance this test shows an undue
amount of foreign matter in milk, the presentation of the
results to the responsible party practically always results in im-
provement. When such improvement does not result, addi-
tional means of procedure are at hand. Milk as it is now
ordinarily produced and delivered is one of our cleanest foods.

Keeping Quality. — Milk may be rich in fat, carefully pas-
teurized and thoroughly clean, but if it is sour when delivered
it will be considered by the consumer to be bad milk. At
present the most commonly considered test of keeping quality
is the bacterial count. Milk will rarely sour until its germ con-
tent amounts to some millions per cubic centimeter. On the
other hand, making the bacterial count is a highly technical
process, requiring fairly extensive laboratory equipment and the
lapse of considerable time. The count as obtained is subject to
considerable variation, and the point at which either the sour
taste is noticeable or the milk is curdled does not coincide with
any definite number of germs per cubic centimeter. The mi-
croscopic method of counting bacteria has some advantages
over the plate method, but the microscopic method is not
readily applicable where the germ content is relatively low.

The earlier and simpler method of estimating the probable
keeping quality was by titration of the acid produced by the
germ life. Like the microscopic count of the bacteria, this
titration method is most applicable to milk of doubtful quality.

In Europe much attention has been given the reductase test.
Like the microscopic method and the titration of acid, this test

82 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

fairly readily detects milk which is approaching the limit of its
desirability. All things considered from the standpoint of the
inspector, probably none of these suggested tests of keeping
quality have very much advantage over the trained sense of
smell, though where laboratory facilities are available, each of
them has certain advantages.

Grading Milk.

The inspector who is required to pass upon a given sample of
milk, after assuring himself regarding its fat content, pasteur-
ization, cleanliness and keeping quality, has the basis for an
intelligent verdict.

Before rendering his verdict, if he is wise, he will inquire the
purpose to which the milk is to be put. A given sample of
milk may be quite unsuitable for baby feeding and still be
quite satisfactory for cooking purposes. This brings up the
question of grading milk.

The desirability of grading milk into classes or groups so
that the consumer may purchase the grade of material best
suited to the particular need is so evident as to require little
comment. Even the enthusiast who hopes to bring all milk to
a single high standard agrees that while this process is going on
we must have a second class for milk which for any reason is
not up to standard.

I was recently asked by a prominent milk man if it was
possible to grade milk. As an answer I drew his attention to
the State of New York where it is being done. Entirely aside
from New York we have for many years in all of our larger
and many of our smaller cities recognized local grades of milk.
The Walker-Gordon Laboratories made a name and a business
for themselves years before the State of New York acted in
this matter.

The real question is not ought we to grade milk, for we are
agreed upon that point; nor can we grade milk, because we
are doing it. The question is how can we best grade milk,
because as yet we have not found an entirely satisfactory sys-
tem of grading it.

An acquaintance with market demands in different parts of
our country would suggest that roughly 10 per cent of it should

Part II.]

-AIILK IXSPECTIOX.

be of an extra fine quality, largely for baby feeding, and that
80 per cent of it should be of good quality, adapted for table
use and direct consumption by adults, and about 10 per cent is
needed for cooking purposes. With few exceptions the milk
now on the market is suitable for one or more of these purposes.
The problem of grading is to so designate a given bottle of
milk that the purchaser will have explicit information regarding
the uses for which it is suitable.

A committee of the Official Dairy Instructors Association, now
called the American Dairy Science Association, has been study-
ing this question of grading for some years, and recently pre-
sented a preliminary report. This report will appear in the
next number of the "Journal of Dairy Science." It has also
been printed as Circular No. 205 of the Illinois Agricultural
Experiment Station, and as a bulletin of the agricultural experi-
ment stations at Geneva, New York, and at Cornell University.

This report suggests that we recognize three grades of milk,
— special, table and cooking. It further suggests how these
essential elements of milk quality — food value, healthfulness,
cleanliness and keeping quality — may be used to characterize
these three grades. The suggestion is as follows: —

Grade.

Element of Quality.

Degree of Excellence.

Special milk,

Food value,

Fat content as stated on package.

Healthfulness, .
Cleanliness,

Medical supervision of health of men
and animals, or proper pasteuriza-
tion.

Sediment, not more than a trace.

Keeping quality.

Excellent.

Table milk,

Food value.

Fat content as stated on pnckage.

Healthfulness, .

Properly pasteurized.

Cleanliness,
Keeping fjuality,

Sediment, not more than a bmall

amount.
Good.

Cooking milk.

Food value.

Fat content as stated on package.

Healthfulness, .

Boiled.

Cleanliness,

May not be sufncient for tabic grade.

Keeping quality,

May not be sufficient for table grade.

This suggestion, which is lacking in many details and un-
doubtedly faulty in some particulars, is advanced as a basis for

84 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

criticism. Destructive criticism is usually the easiest variety to
obtain, but it is to be hoped that a portion of this criticism
will be constructive.

The economic importance of intelligent grading of our milk
supply is evident, and in these strenuous times, where the con-
servation of our food supplies has become a national problem
in a new and peculiar sense, the grading of milk has assumed a
new importance.

Returning once more to the inspector and his problem, I
would say that when the inspector has satisfied himself regard-
ing the food value, healthfulness, cleanliness and keeping qual-
ity of a given sample of milk, and knows the purpose for which
it was intended, he is in a position to accurately characterize it
as good or bad.

Part II.] VALUE OF CORN. 85

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A KERNEL OF CORN.

GEORGE M. TWITCHELL, AUBURN, MAINE.

Because of war with all its terrors, the destruction of ma-
terial property as well as life, the transfer of 40,000,000 men
from the producing to the consuming class, the horror of
devastation of cities, towns, estates, and homes, and the
necessities of untold thousands of dependents, old and young,
a new cry has arisen, and slowly we are coming to realize the
necessity of conserving, that life in the future may be possible.

Through the liberality of nature pouring out so lavishly in
rich harvests all over the world, year after year, men grew
neglectful of that economy which alone can make for true
comfort, prosperity and success. Waste, waste, waste on every
hand has been the rule of the American people, increasing
yearly. Whether on the farm or in town, the paths of present
satisfaction and ease have been sought, the value of time
seemingly neglected, and the necessity of utilization of the
best there is in the individual not thought necessary.

If this demand for conservation comes home to the indi-
vidual worker with sufficient force to insure deliberate, intel-
ligent action it will prove one of the greatest blessings result-
ing from this terrible struggle, leading to the plainer, simple
life, the utilization of home-grown products and agents now
neglected, the growing of the food of support for the family,
and the more critical study of all individual expenditures.

Xo class is to be more profoundly affected by these changing
conditions than the farmer. Forced through shortage of labor
and labor complications to get back to one-man farming, the
crops to be grown must be those best adapted to the indi-
vidual farm, and most valuable in supplying the food of sup-
port for the family. Whether in selection and preparation of
the land, breeding and care of animals, or this great field of

86 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

study and investigation in seed, the heavier the pressure
reahzed by individuals the greater will be the compensation.
Here is the work for men, not possible to be performed by
others, where every man must be a law unto himself.

The lavish appropriations by the national government and
various boards and commissions for the uplift of farmers have
been educating a generation of leaners. If this war disturbs
this and forces the necessity, as well as the opportunity, for
individual thinking, the outcome will be a wave of agricultural
prosperity this nation has never known. Trained the worker
must be, educated the thinker must become, but when once
the fundamentals are fixed, theory must surrender to practice
and experience become the teacher, which alone can save. In
the wise economy of nature it has been ordained that he who
does the best he knows obtains results commensurate with
labor of hand and brain. There is no single path save that
of principles. Practice must ever diverge though results con-
verge. With this thought let us discuss flint corn.

If good results have attended your efforts along a path
widely divergent from that here indicated, follow that path,
for results alone must determine your line of action. The one
essential to urge to-day is more corn on every farm. It is
one of the stern realities growing out of the war. If the yield
has been satisfactory to the grower in the past, we must
realize to-day that it has not reached the limit of the farm,
and strike for more corn per acre. The limit is the man, not
the land.

Experience forces the conviction that deeper plowing, more
careful plowing, the laying of the furrows at an even angle in
breaking the sod, are all necessary for that uniform prepa-
ration of the land without which maximum crops are impossible.
Some popular labor-saving machines gloss the surface of the
field, but do not tear up the depths of the furrows. Force
necessary to push feeding rootlets through hard soil can never
be utilized for perfecting crops. Thorough preparation of the
seed bed is a long stride towards record-breaking yield. It
is not the cost of preparation, but the value of the possible
crop which must determine action; hence we must consider
well the initial steps.

Part II.] ^'ALUE OF CORN. 87

For one, I like to plow in the fall, turning in the baj-n
manure, and then cross plow in the early spring to break up
all particles and insure distribution of food all through the
mass. Turning old sod in August and harrowing, as witch
grass starts, then cross plowing early in the spring and pre-
paring the land thoroughly, has completely killed this so-called
pest and insured a good crop. Witch grass is one of the^ best
friends a farmer can have, provided it stirs him to keep it in
subjection, because in doing this the land gets better prepa-
ration for future work. The day has passed for "I guess that
will do." Hereafter we must know of the thoroughness of
every step, that we may find the minimum cost of production.

Maximum crops are insured only when grown on healthy
^oils. Healthy soils are dependent on living organisms made
possible by cover crops, barn-yard manure and short-term
rotation. Fifty years ago Pasteur, the great French biologist,
proved the fact of life in the soil, yet to-day we have hardly
grasped the significance of the lesson. The nitrification of
organic nitrogen by these friendly forms of bacteria plays an
important part in profitable crop production. Barn manure
must again become the sheet anchor with every would-be
successful cropper. The earlier that recognition of this fact
forces increase of cattle, sheep and hogs on the farms the
better for Massachusetts farmers and farming.

The future for New England agriculture hinges on increase
of live stock. The intimate connection between the corn crib
and tieup, sheepfold, hog ranch or poultry yard must be
established. More corn opens the door and more live stock
solves the problem which from any other standpoint is beyond
human solution, save with a few specialists. The absolute im-
possibility of obtaining chemicals or mixed fertilizers balanced
for the work required compels attention to the problem here
presented, even if the high prices certain to be realized for
meat products did not present attractions.

The best life of the State requires that its food of support
be supplied in larger measure from its own farms. Depend-
ence by farmers on outside markets for beef, lamb, pork and
horses has largely killed that self-reliant spirit necessary for
full protection of individual rights. When the time comes

88 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

that the people of a State or Nation fail to grow the food of
support, mental, moral and physical deterioration is invited.
We grow only under pressure.

The vitality, uniformity and reproductive power of seed
next claim attention, and will demand detailed consideration
later. Frequent light cultivation can never be too strongly
emphasized. I am forced to the conviction that after corn
or potatoes are 6 inches high all cultivation should be con-
fined to the upper 2 inches. By the time the corn is 8 inches
tall the feeding rootlets meet between the rows. All food is
taken in at the extremities of these rootlets^ never by the
main trunk roots. Weeds can have no place in the economy
of good farming.

No man can afford to pay for, or produce, plant food to
feed weeds in his corn field. A 1-inch dust mulch will save
the corn crop on any New England farm. Count out the
slackers on the farms and let them be known as leaners on
the body of workers. There is no place in the present-day
vocabularies for "I guess so" or "It can't be done." Only
those ready to say "I can" and "I will" are wanted in the
ranks of workers this year.

Maximum crops alone pay a profit, and for these to be
possible the law of conservation must be religiously applied
and enforced. This is 1918, and the conditions and demands
of the present must dominate with every man. The cry of
humanity as well as the necessities of war will force the issue
on every corn field as well as every battlefield, and you and
I must prepare to do our best, not through extended opera-
tions, but intensive, thinking of the greatest possible output
per acre.

Of all farm crops produced on New England soil, flint corn
stands at the head as the safest, surest, sanest, and, where
rightly grown, most profitable. Found by our forefathers when
they landed on Massachusetts soil, grown by the Indians for
centuries before that period, it has claims upon our thought
to-day, not to be disputed or disregarded. It is the one crop
to be increased wherever possible for the good of the farm,
the possible increase of live stock and the saving of the nation.

For three years farmers have been meeting adverse climatic

Part IL] VALUE OF COI^X. 89

conditions. Whether, in the cycle of the years, we are passing
through a period of depression following the profligacy of
nature we know not, but this is certain, that all preparations
for 1918 must be made to conserve to the utmost and help
insure a maximum crop. In this, adaptability of crop to soil
and locality becomes of prime importance. We cannot afford
to take chances this season. Realizing this, the study of the
kernel of corn becomes vital to every grower. After many
years' experience in breeding flint corn, I am convinced that
no other crop is so susceptible to environment or j'ields so
readily to a cordial invitation, and at the same time that no
crop will revert so rapidly when the directing hand of the
master is lifted.

Maximum yield is still an unknown quantity, though a
rapidly increasing number in every State has passed a level
thought practically impossible a few years ago. While the
average acre production of the State covers about 40 bushels
of shelled corn, men in every locality are getting 100 or more.
To lift the lower line, not drag down the upper, is the field
for the careful worker to-day. That much attaches to soil
selection, preparation and care, as well as fertilizing, is readily
admitted; that more centers in seed growing and selection is
not yet recognized. Far too many still persist in selecting
seed from the crib, thereby checking the possibility of uni-
formity in yield, time of maturity or value of product. Some
system of seed selection must be followed if increase in crop
yield is desired and seed potency made certain.

Starting years ago with two ears from growers at the ex-
tremes of Maine, the work of seed selection has been critically
followed, especial attention being paid to the kernel. Think-
ing only of the growth of stalk, size and abundance of leaves,
location of the ear, number and size, width, depth, breadth
and fullness of kernels, all thought of fancy points, such as
well-filled tips, has been discarded. Practical utility has been
the one purpose, and number of kernels per ear of greatest
significance.

No man can continue to select seed with special reference
to tip without ultimately reducing the length of the ear.
Brought to New England by instructors from the dent corn

90 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

regions it has been pressed as an essential to work injury
where adopted. Every ear husked with one-half inch of cob
protruding beyond the kernels is to me a warning that it was
ready to do its part, and that I failed somewhere to grasp
the lesson to do my full duty.

Shelling out a lot of ears of varying length, 8 to 11 inches,
it was a matter of no little surprise that there was less than
one-fourth ounce difference in weight of the individual cobs,
the 8, 9, 10 and lOj inch cobs weighing 1 ounce each, and
the 11-inch, 1| ounces. This was crib-dried corn. An S-inch
ear should shell 8 ounces of corn, and for any increase in
length we should get 1 ounce net for each inch. This is for
8-rowed corn, though in shelling out a lot of 12-rowed, I
found no variation from this rule, the net weights being the
same. An 8-inch ear of 8-rowed corn should yield 380 full
kernels, and for every inch increase in length 48 kernels should
be added. If we are not getting this something is wrong with
our work.

Here we touch the significance of the kernel, for the increase
of 1 inch to the ears would signify an increase of practically
8 bushels per acre. Years ago I set my standard at one ear
on every stalk and 500 kernels on every ear, and while that
may never be reached, except in isolated cases, it is still the
objective point, and some progress is yearly being made.
Kernel by kernel, length of ear is slowly yielding to an in-
sistent demand for more, while width, depth and thickness of
kernel seem well established.

You of southern Massachusetts should set your standard
higher, for the Maine crop must be matured in one hundred
days or less, and we cannot grow as large ears as you.

No man can be content with present attainment without
absolute loss in the future. That man who has struck twelve
in production of any crop will hardly reach that level again.
It is the everlasting reaching out after such control as will
command more that alone may insure additional length of
cob and number of kernels.

To plant 1 acre, the rows 3 feet apart, 5 kernels every 36
inches, will require practically 18,000 kernels. As a rule, seed
testing 95 to 97 in the box loses 15 to 20 per cent in field

Part II.] VALUE OF CORN. 91

germination, and about 14,500 stalks will be found on an acre
of good corn. Observation in many fields, covering a number
of years, indicates that of these 14,500 stalks 20 to 25 per
cent will be barren, leaving practically 11,000 bearing stalks.
Here is a loss in seed and production not to be overlooked.
It has to do with the kernel, and is in too many cases the
pivotal point between success and failure. To put more vi-
tality and virility into our seed must first be the objective
point with the grovrer.

Better preparation of the land, more frequent light cultiva-
tion, and the destruction of all weeds are essentials. Before the
last going over with the cultivator apply between the rows 200
pounds of fertilizer carrying 3 to 3| per cent of nitrogen, 6
per cent of phosphoric acid, and, if possible, as much potash,
all in form to be promptly available. As this will be applied
just before the corn spindles, it will hasten growth of leaf and
stalk and carry the crop through to full maturity, increasing
length of ears and crop and yield of shelled corn. Looking
for seed, the possibility of fertilization of silks by pollen from
non-productive stalks must be checked through detasseling or
cutting out all barren stalks as soon as spindles are well
developed. If this forces the planting of a special breeding
plot, away from the field, where the ear-to-row system may
be followed, increase in quantity grown and higher seed po-
tency may be expected, with strong probability of increased
protein value. As everything must here tend to perfection
of seed it will pay to remove all suckers on this plot, as well
as non-bearing stalks, and thin to three stalks to the hill,
allowing abvmdance of sunlight.

Dent corn averages 9.50 per cent protein; our New England
flint corn, 10 to 10.50, while analysis of a number of ears
from my breeding plot in 1909 ran as high as 12.65 per cent.
Here is the elusive element in corn, to be diligently sought
after through breeding, selection and feeding, and has to do
entirely with the kernel.

No one step leads so directly to improvement and increase
in kernels as the ear-to-row breeding plot, whereby planting
one ear to a row, or a given number of kernels from selected
ears, it is only necessary to keep record of the length of the

92 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

parent ear for each row planted, and the number of kernels
thereon, to know of the progress made. There is not a va-
riety of flint corn but can, by judicious selection and careful
treatment, be radically changed in length of ear, number and
shape of kernels and size and shape of cob, as well as number
of days required for maturity.

Longfellow flint corn is a long, tapering, 8-rowed variety
from northern New York, yet a New Hampshire man, getting
seed from Mr. Longfellow direct, found in his crop that season
one ear of 12-rowed. This was planted by itself, and in five
years not an 8-rowed ear could be found. Selection will
modify or change any characteristics. We want to believe this,
and then go to work and add more kernels to the variety we
now have. To accomplish this there must be some system of
marking the more vigorous hills or stalks early in the season
if seed is taken from the field, and then following them until
ready to break.

No ear should be saved unless the stalk is large at the ground,
tapering to the spindle, at least 8 feet tall, and carrying an
abundance of large, long leaves and at least one good ear set
close to .the stalk, never out on an arm. When husks are
dry one-third down, go through and break out the best ears,
later discarding all not uniform in shape and size and of de-
sired length. I like to hang these choice ears by themselves
in a shady place where there is plenty of air, or, if traced, to
put only five or six ears in a trace to hang until thoroughly
dried. From every angle the selfsame lesson is presented the
thinking grower. The power of blood in corn may easily be
seen in the prepotency of that old variety known as King
Philip. Generations after breaking with this once so popular
variety, the red cob and kernel, and peculiar shape of the old
favorite, will be met. So, also, with Canada early, though
not in as marked degree.

If ever there is increase in yield, shape or size of kernel it
will be through the organizing power of the human brain, —
yours and mine. The great incentive for progress is a big
conception of what a man can do and the determination to
excel all past achievements. We want a clearer corn vision,
that there may follow greater enthusiasm for its realization.

Part II.] VALUE OF CORX. 93

Having this in common, but a few years would be necessary
to lift the corn production of the State to SO bushels of shelled
corn per acre, — twice what it is to-day.

The whole problem rests with the man and his servant, the
kernel of corn. Not a step is required here but what is de-
manded by good farming. To obtain this you cannot go far
from home for seed. Better take what you have and build on
that than risk seed grown under different environment. Last
year a few ears of corn were sent me by a Pennsylvania house
as extra Early Northern. The ears were large, too large for
our climate, but it was put into the hands of a careful grower,
on good corn land, with room to test carefully. The result was
a 12-foot stalk, ears 6 feet from the ground, and immature
when the frost came in October. The danger element is so
great when ordering seed from a distance that I would empha-
size the greater security through home-grown. More than this,
what a man does out of his own energies gives enthusiasm for
further efforts, and this insures increase and better farming.
Grow your own seed corn.

If the law of the State prohibited the purchase of seed out-
side, and required every man to produce his own under a rigid
system of selection, it would insure better crops everywhere,
through closer attention to simple details. That personal in-
terests, financial interests, do not necessitate this is one of the
facts past comprehension.

For improvement in corn, seed environment must be made
congenial, soil adaptability appreciated, and selection made
from largest and best ears, carrying kernels of the right type.
No man can follow this conscientiously, year after year, with-
out steadily increasing the value and yield per acre. It is the
law of progress applied to the homely duties of the farm.

The set of the ear on the stalk bears important relation to
the length of days necessary for maturity. If you want an
eighty-day corn, select ears which come out near the ground,
though by so doing you reduce length of ear and yield. Look-
ing for a crop to mature, ready for seed breaking, in one hun-
dred days, and to yield 100 bushels of shelled corn I select
ears about 2^ feet from the ground. The danger in selecting
from the bin is that of getting a wide variation in time neces-

94 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

sary for growth. The risk in buying is that you have and can
have no knowledge of conditions or rules governing selection.
Success in this world is made up of a bundle of seeming trifles,
each contributing to the sum total aimed at, not one to be
neglected without certain loss.

In selecting yellow-eyed beans for seed next year, from the
field before pulling, I found stalks carrying but 5 well-filled
pods, others 50, and one 94, and 50 was made the minimum.
It required a little time to go over the field and do this, but
it must pay in increased yield if systematically followed for a
few years. An old farmer in Maine built up a remarkable
strain of oats by selection from the field, discarding all stools
not carrying 13 or more stalks, with large heads and well-
shaped kernels.

Hill selection of potatoes has radically improved production
under normal crop conditions, but only through unit breeding
do we approach uniformity in type or yield. Everywhere it
is the same, the law of breeding applied in the field, as it must
be in the tieup or sheepfold. Good crops are grown to-day,
but those will not suffice to-morrow. Every condition facing
the grower of 1918 forces consideration of any and all problems
promising to insure increase of yield and higher potency in
reproduction, as well as value of product.

It is not alone a question of what we would have; every
economic viewpoint forces what we must do if we are to aid
in conserving life or energies. Here in the corn field you and
I may do our bit, but we cannot do it well unless through
careful study of the kernel, we seek for that increase and im-
provement possible.

In Wisconsin, in five years' time, a decided increase in size,
shape of ear and yield per acre was obtained by a simple
system of seed selection. The variation in yield between ears
of corn of the same size and variety is so great as to demand
of the grower such comparative tests as will tend to greater
uniformity. Ears of the same number of kernels from the
same field will vary so widely as to surprise any one who
makes the simple test. No man can afford to use seed from
the bin, or that saved at husking time; only the ear-to-row
test will establish the grower. After several years' hill selection

Part II.] VALUE OF CORN. 95

of potatoes, discarding all which failed to give 7 to 9 of mer-
chantable size, and a minimum number of small ones, my first
test in unit breeding, using seed from the hill-selected stock
of the same variety and weight, gave a variation in j'ield from
6^ to 16f pounds per potato.

Later years have reduced this variation, thereby proving the
possibility as well as the profit of this simple line of work.
There must be some system of seed growing and selection by
which we can approach uniformity in production and repro-
ductive powers, and for this we must diligently seek. In the
animal kingdom it rests with the individual, not the herd or
flock; in the vegetable, fruit or grain fields the same law
holds, and it is up to us to work out the system ourselves.
It cannot be done for us by another. What per cent of seed
ears do you get per acre? Careful records prove a range of
5 to 60 and he who approaches the higher must realize in-
crease in yield of 50 to 100 per cent, the whole problem re-
volving about the kernels.

We are tenants of the soil, not absolute owners; to be
judged by what we produce, how we produce it and in what
condition we leave the land for others. No man can be a
farm slacker to-day and merit recognition. To waste energies
or material is criminal; to conserve is manly.

Find your sj'stem where you will, but let it be the best
you can grasp, and then follow it religiously, and years will
bring added increase in quantity and quality of crop produced.
Real helpfulness from an institution or individual comes not
through following blindly the path others have traveled, but
in the awakened resolve to make a straight path for yourself.
The only enduring help is self help. If I am able to set in
motion forces, and bring to men the consciousness that the
finest and best help comes from within, the full purpose of
this hour will be realized.

Theodore Roosevelt never gave utterance to a truer state-
ment than, after coming out of the jungle, in an address be-
fore a Chinese college, he said, "Beware of that man who
fails to translate his words into deeds."

Measured by that standard, where do you and I stand
to-dav? Are we adding to the sum total of knowledge? Are

96 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

we demonstrating, through actual experience, the straight path
to higher service? Are we yearly getting control of the factors
centering in the kernel of corn for our own profit and the good
of others, or are we camp followers leaving to coming gener-
ations that pioneer work which alone can save? You and I
have each 400,000,000 brain cells, and there is no full, free
manhood until every cell is developed. Where do we stand
in the list? These God-given powers are not for selfish use,
but to increase for the enrichment of the world, the moving
back of the wall of the centuries, the bringing in of the glory
of the man that sometime is to be. Are we translating these
simple corn lessons in our yearly experiences for our own
enrichment and the blessing of the world, or are we going to
the store or to our neighbor's cribs, not knowing whether seed
is adapted to our environment or not? Are you standing
straight in your field or are you a leaner? It is time for us
to translate the little everyday experiences of farm life into
big problems of actual service and divine potentiality.

There is an old saying that "An honest man is the noblest
work of God," but there seems to be varying definitions of
honesty. There is as loud a call for this attribute in the corn
field as in trade. No man can cheat nature and be true to
himself. In the warp and woof of life every false thread
weakens the fabric, and God, through nature, is exacting of
us a full equivalent. You and I need to wake to a larger
appreciation of our obligations, certain that by so doing the
kernels will increase and the sum total of human comfort be
greatly augmented.

If there is a cry for more wheat in the west, more cotton
in the south, more potatoes, sheep, cattle, hogs everywhere,
we may hear the call for more corn in New England. Listen,
brother farmers, to the cry going up to-day from ruined
countries and starving Europe, as well as hungry America, and
prepare to do this year better service, to grow more corn per
acre, than ever before, that burdens now bearing so heavily
may be lifted. Profoundly am I convinced of the increased
value of the corn crop aini necessity for finding that on every
farm. We face a year when one-man farming must govern

Part II.] VALUE OF CORN. 97

because of inability to get competent help or pay the wages
men obtain in certain other lines of work. No farmer can
find justification for paying wages demanded unless certain
he can utilize the same to a profit. The hour has struck
when the earning capacity of a man must be critically meas-
ured. If this leads to restricted operations in the barn or
field, without forcing its full lesson, we shall suffer. If it
arouses men to grapple with the problem of maximum out-
put at minimum cost it will prove one of the richest legacies
of the century. To what degree can we reduce acreage and
increase total volume of production? Can such a result be
made possible? These are the questions forcing themselves upon
the farmer to-day, not to be answered by another, but grappled
with by the individual and proven in his own field of labor.

The possibilities of seed selection in increasing crop pro-
duction are still an unknown quantity. The certainty that
this opens the door to our financial salvation is not yet appre-
ciated. Experience teaches that it is a simple proposition to
double the average corn crop of the State, and for this I plead.
Here is where every farmer can do his bit for his country.
Upon the shoulders of the men on the farms of the United
States rests the responsibility of feeding the allied armies of
the world, and all dependents, as well as our own population.
Not yet are we alive to the necessity for doing our best and
our utmost. The cry ringing in the ears of every farmer to-
day should be that old-time cry of Carlyle, "The best there
is in you, and the whole of it." There is no sacrifice for us
except to those who send dear ones to the front, but there is
an opportunity for service for every man, which love of home
and country, faith in American institutions and American
standards, and hope for the future should inspire. It is the
determination to be the best possible, to toil and plan, save
and conserve at every step and in every way, that our
institutions so dear, and that democracy of individual liberty,
born on the rugged hills of this north land, may under God
be preserved, and, through the united service of the boys at
the front and the men and women at home, be transmitted
to coming generations a priceless heritage.

98 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

I follow my convictions, wherever they may lead.
I cannot choose my duties, I cannot choose my creed.
And none can choose them for me, no church, or priest, or clan;
I follow my convictions, if I'm an honest man.

Oh, brother in the conflict, be earnest, brave and true.
Dare to be independent, and think your problems through.
Love God and love your neighbor, do all the good you can,
And follow your convictions, and be an honest man.

Mr. jMaynard. Will the Doctor please state once more the
number of kernels that ought to be on an 8-inch ear of corn?
I wasn't quite quick enough to copy that.

Dr. TwiTCHELL. I want 380 broad, deep, full kernels.
Here is a difference in corn on the cob; we find it in so many
cases, as I pointed out, — what we term the "chib." There
is an open space there. I want to close that, and that is
what I mean by broad, deep kernels, so there will be no
space at all on the cob. As we break an ear I can't see any
space; every kernel of it is close to the cob. That is where
we get the maximum corn on the individual cob.

Mr. Maynard. How many kernels per inch, extra, above
that?

Dr. TwiTCHELL. Forty-eight.

Evening Session.
The speaker of the evening was Mr. George A. Cullen,
Passenger Traffic Manager, the Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western Railroad Company, New York, who spoke on "The
Relation of the Railroad to the Farmer."

Partll.l RELATION OF THE RAILROAD. 99

THE RELATION OF THE RAILROAD TO THE FARMER.

GEORGE A. CULLEN, PASSENGEB TRAFFIC MANAGER OF THE DELAWARE,
LACKAWANNA & WESTERN RAILROAD COMPANY.

The subject upon which your Board has honored me with
an invitation to speak, "The Relation of the Railroad to the
Farmer," is one involving such nation- v/ide interests, is so
related to the history of the progress and development of our
whole industrial and social life, and is so charged with sug-
gestiveness of possibilities for the future, that it is with a very
real hesitancy that I undertake to speak at all upon it to an
audience so well informed as this, and especially, in the cursory
and sketchy way that is -necessary in the limitations imposed
by an occasion like this.

There is an obvious fitness in linking the farmer and the
railroad. They represent, in the order named, the two inter-
ests which stand at the head of the industrial life of our
people, and comprise between them nearly 30 per cent of the
total national wealth, the estimated value of the farms and
farm property at the present time being approximately $50,-
000,000,000, and of the railroads almost $20,000,000,000.

But it is not alone, or chiefly, as the two most important
of our industries that the two components of our subject find
their relationship, but rather in the interdependence of their
very existence under the conditions which have made, and,
let us hope, are still to keep, our nation the greatest mankind
has known.

If your Board had phrased this subject, "The Relation of
the Farmer to the Railroad," instead of "The Relation of the
Railroad to the Farmer," you would naturally expect the
emphasis to be laid upon what the farmer has done for (or
perhaps what he should do to) the railroad, but styled as it

100 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. . [P. D. 4.

is, I assume it is expected that I shall deal with it subjectively
for the railroad and objectively for the farmer.

It is quite possible that our people with their natural force
of character would, in the past eighty years, have made sub-
stantial progress in settling and developing the more accessible
and fertile sections of our country, even without a railroad
system much more extensive than that of Russia, which has
one-sixth of our mileage with nearly twice our population. But
who thinks that anything approaching the present magnificent
development could have taken place without the pioneer daring,
the masterly constructiveness and the organizing genius which
have given us a network of railways of a quarter of a million
miles, six times as extensive as that of Germany, eight times
as great as that of France, eleven times as great as that of
Great Britain, and comprising over one-third of the entire
railroad mileage of the world.

But it is not my purpose to dwell upon what the railroads
have done for the country as a whole, how they have so de-
veloped their efficiency that to-day they transport freight at
an average rate per ton mile of little more than half that of
Germany, France or Austria, while paying wages twice as great.
Nor of how, for corresponding accommodations, they carry
passengers at an average of 33| per cent lower fares than do
the railroads of Europe. Nor yet of how the preferences and
discriminations of European railroads are practically unknown
here. My object is rather to outline for you the attitude of
the railroad to the farmer, and the interest the railroad has
in the prosperity and development of the farms of the nation.

Let us recall for the moment, if you please, the extraordi-
nary history of the past eighty years since railroads have been
a factor in our life, as compared with the previous two hundred
years of our existence on this continent and of fifty as a nation.
In 1835 the population of the country was 15,000,000, and
the total population of the only two States west of the Missis-
sippi River then existing (Missouri and Louisiana) was about
half that of the present city of St. Louis. To-day the total
population of the country has grown sevenfold, while that of
the territory west of the Mississippi River is twice as great
as was that of the entire United States in 1835.

Part II.] RELATION OF THE RAILROAD. 101

It is more than a coincidence that this remarkable growth of
population in this country parallels so closely the development
of the railroads. Railroads were inaugurated at about the same
time in all the civilized countries of the world, and in none of
the others has there been anything to compare with the situ-
ation I have just described, except subsequently in Canada,
Brazil and the Argentine, where America's already successful
experiment was copied. Now, the reason for the difference is
not hard to find. In America alone, broadly speaking, was
the policy adopted from the start of pushing the railroads out
ahead of the population, not only into the far and middle
west, but also into unsettled sections of the east. In all these
cases the railroad projectors built upon hope, and with a
vision and a financial courage unequaled probably in all the
history of mankind.

Coupled with the marvelous achievements in securing the
capital, solving the engineering problems and marshaling and
directing the forces of men and material, there was another
phase of this pioneer work that some of us not yet in middle
life can well remember as boys, especially if, as in the case of
the speaker, we lived in one of those gateways through which
its visible manifestations marched in an unbroken procession to
people the new promised lands flowing with possibilities of
great harvests of grain and vegetables and cattle, to say nothing
of blizzards, cyclones and grasshoppers. I refer, of course, to
the gigantic colonization agencies of the Union Pacific, the
Burlington, the Santa Fe, the Rock Island, the Missouri Pacific,
the Northern Pacific and other great systems of the west,
which, not content with posting quarter sheet cards on every
telegraph pole, fence and barn in staid New England, sent its
emissaries by the thousands across the sea, and there preached
the gospel of prosperity and happiness in the land of freedom
to the daring or the disappointed of Europe. We know how
whole States, such as Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota and the
Dakotas, were peopled in this way.

We often forget, however, that the government did not do
this, and that the people of the United States as a whole did
not do it, but that we owe this, which has probably been one
of the most important factors in our present national great-

102 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

ness, almost, if not quite wholly, to our railroads. But let us
pass over all these evidences of how the railroads have re-
garded the farmers in our past and turn to the situation as it
is to-day.

\i^ Because the country is now considered to be "settled up" —
w^hich, of course, it is not, only sprinkled with population in
a large part of its arable area — it is sometimes thought the
interest of the railroad in furthering the development of the
farm has subsided if not died out.

Is this the case? The conditions show it to be unlikely and
the practices of the railroads show it to be untrue.

In the first place, the railroads of the country at large de-
rive 15 per cent of their entire freight traffic (in tonnage) from
the products of the farm, including animals, varying geograph-
ically from 10 per cent in the far east to 25 per cent in the
far west. In addition to this, it is roughly estimated that,
the country over, 25 per cent of all the passenger traffic con-
sists of farmers and their families and employees. Very good
reasons of self-interest, these, why the railroads desire to see
the farmer successful. Then, again, the successful farmer pro-
duces a very appreciable inbound freight traffic, in the matter
of building material, household goods, clothing, agricultural
implements, fertilizers, coal, etc., which yields a considerable
revenue to the roads, and which, obviously, is in direct ratio
to the farmer's prosperity. Further, the growth of cities and
towns is directly dependent, to a large degree, upon the de-
velopment of the agricultural sections in which they are located,
and the traffic of those towhs is all grist to the railroad mill.
Another element it is well to consider, though we hear little
of it in this connection, is that the railroad is a large employer
of labor, this item comprising over 60 per cent of the cost of
operation, and involving the services of nearly 2,000,000 men,
who, with their dependents, represent a population of at least
8,000,000 persons. Now, the primary element in the wages of
employees (as we have seen so clearly in the past few years)
is the cost of living, and the principal item in the cost of
living is the price of food. Hence the railroad is very directly
interested in the production of a sufficient food supply, so that
wages may not be forced to a point, as threatens now, where

Part II.] RELATIOX OF THE RAILROAD. 103

the roads cannot be operated except at a loss, or with a very
meager return to those who have suppHed the capital.

With all these incentives it is no wonder that the progressive
railroad systems of the day endeavor not only to provide,
through either their freight or express or special service, ad-
equate transportation facilities to enable the farmer to get his
products to market under the most favorable conditions, but
also (and this is the principal subject of my talk) to give him
such assistance, advice and service in connection with the pro-
duction of his output as the highly organized character of the
railroad business frequently makes practicable and easy where
it would be difScult, if not impossible, for individual farmers
or groups of farmers acting for themselves.

Under the head of transportation of farm products, let us
say a word in passing. You know, of course, that in the
transportation of grain, hay, tobacco, cotton, potatoes and most
of the staple vegetables the regulation type of box car is used,
which with certain modifications for the different classes of
products satisfactorily answers the purpose. The railroads, how-
ever, recognize that there are products that cannot be trans-
ported in the farmer's interests nor in their own or those of
the general public by this means, and a great many millions
of dollars are invested in cars specially constructed for carry-
ing such products as milk, poultry, horses and highly perish-
able fruits and vegetables. Moreover, where perishables are
produced in sufficient quantities to warrant it, special fast serv-
ice is provided, such as the well-known transcontinental citrus
fruit trains, the peach, watermelon and small-fruit trains be-
tween the southern farms and the northern markets, and the
fast milk service which is performed in connection with all of
our larger cities. The company of which I have the honor of
being an officer, the Lackawanna Railroad, brings into New
York City every night 60 cars of milk in three trains operated
on limited passenger train schedules from central New York, a
distance of 250 miles. When you realize that this meant in
the past year 126,000,000 quarts of milk, and know, as you
do, that one cow produces on an average of 2,500 quarts per
year, you can see how this company is, on the one hand,
aiding some 50,000 cows to do their daily duty, and, on the

104 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

other, keeping 400,000 babies alive, that is, assuming all the
milk goes to the babies, and not to some such anti-Hoover
purpose as making ice cream, soda water or milk punches.
Instances could be multiplied of special service somewhat simi-
lar to this all over the country, but time presses and I pass
to the main subject.

The activities of the different railroads in contributing to
the agricultural development of the territory served by their
lines vary, not only with the different sections and localities
and with the character of the products raised, but also in a
marked degree with the individual judgments, opinions or pref-
erences of the different railroad managements concerned. This
is but natural when you realize that the work is done by rail-
road men who do not claim to be farmers, but who are obliged
to select from the many plans put forth by agricultural ex-
perts those best suited to their conditions and to the degree
of effort, personal and financial, they feel they can profitably
expend upon it.

Certain railroads, such notably as the New York Central,
have made extensive investments in demonstration and experi-
mental farms located in the center of potentially rich agri-
cultural regions where it has been found that the farmers have
not availed themselves in a marked degree of the gradually
improved methods developed under the scientific and practical
direction of the United States and the State departments
of agriculture. These demonstration farms have undoubtedly
proven of great benefit to the farmers in their immediate
vicinity, and have gone far to inculcate a knowledge of better
methods of draining, seeding, spraying, cultivating and other
features.

Other roads (comprising quite a large proportion of those of
the country) have made a very important contribution to the
general good by operating at frequent intervals trains specially
fitted up for the purpose, and accompanied by agricultural
experts who give at rural stations all along the line lectures
and demonstrations upon a great variety of subjects, such as
seed selection, cow testing, land clearing, liming, treatment of
live stock for diseases, the introduction of alfalfa, soy beans,
etc., and the use of farm machinery, including the newly de-

Part II.] RELATION OF THE RAILROAD. 105

veloped and highly efficient tractors which are now used to
great advantage, both for plowing and harvesting, on the small
farms as well as on the large. Figures are not available show-
ing the number of miles covered by trains of this character
throughout the country, but they must run into the hundreds
of thousands a year, and testimony is abundant as to the
benefits derived.

The principle involved is the same as in that of the demon-
stration farm, namely, that the actual exhibition of the process
involved stamps upon the mind a more lasting impression than
any amount of reading of bulletins or agricultural papers can
do.

Several of the western railroads and a few in the cast have
made a practice for several years of keeping in constant em-
ployment a corps of agricultural experts who devote their
entire time to visiting the individual farmers along their lines,
getting well acquainted with them, and, by personal contact,
inducing them to experiment on their own land with new scien-
tific methods, in that way adding to visual demonstration the
important element of personal persuasion, which often is a
most important factor, as we all know, in any line of endeavor.

Most of the methods in question are more or less familiar
to all of you, and I will not stop to dwell upon them in the
general terms that would be necessary, but with your permis-
sion will proceed to give you something more at first hand in
describing the activities of our own company, with which I
have been identified from the start, in the development of
agriculture in the region reached by its line, principally in the
State of New York.

About the year 1910 Mr. W. H. Truesdale, the president of
our company, himself a western man and before coming east
the general manager of one of the largest of the western granger
roads, became impressed with the way in which our national
food production was being overtaken by domestic consumption,
so that not only was the margin for export rapidly reaching
the vanishing point, but the unprecedented condition appar-
ently approaching when America would not produce enough
foodstuffs for her growing population. It was about this time
that the "back to the farm" and many other visionary, if

106 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

not chimerical, ideas were clamoring for public attention. Im-
pressed with the fact that something of a practical and per-
manent character was necessary to meet the grave and, indeed,
threatening situation, Mr. Truesdale delegated me to examine
into the various methods of promoting agricultural develop-
ment and to recommend a line of action for the company to
adopt.

It was manifest that the printed bulletins of the Agricultural
Department fell far short of accomplishing their theoretical
purpose, by reason of the inability of the average man in any
line of business to interest himself in the printed page without
accompanying demonstration and personal contact. Careful
consideration was given to the extensive use of demonstration
trains of one kind and another, and while this was believed to
be good, it was not thought to be of a sufficiently intensive
character, or permanent enough in its results, to accomplish
the work which Mr. Truesdale felt was of such pressing necessity.

The question of the use of one or more demonstration and
experimental farms was gone into with great care with the
valued assistance of Dean Bailey of Cornell Agricultural Col-
lege, who gave his time and personal attention to the inspec-
tion of locations and to the examination of the whole question
of the applicability of this means to the needs of the farmers
along the Lackawanna Railroad. Three farms in the vicinity
of Binghamton were tentatively chosen and options secured for
their purchase, but this plan was abandoned by reason of the
growing opinion, based upon experiences elsewhere, that farmers
could not be induced to visit demonstration farms from any
great distance, nor with sufficient frequency to do them lasting
good. Furthermore, it was found that there is a tendency
with the average farmer to discount the showings of demon-
stration farms, on the ground that the balance-sheet exhibits
as to the profit of various operations are not illustrative or
illuminative for the farmer, as the conduct of a business on a
large scale by a corporation of real or supposed wealth un-
consciously conceals many items of overhead which would
entirely destroy the value of the test for the small farmer.

At this stage the advice of the United States Department
of Agriculture was sought, and Professor W. J. Spillman, chief

Part II.] RELATION OF THE RAILROAD. 107

of the Division of Farm Management of the United States
Department, and the creator of the^ idea of the county agency,
proved most enthusiastic in laying before us the principles
which had already crystallized in his mind, and upon which
the county farm bureau of to-day is founded. Professor Spill-
man's experience with county agents in the south, where they
had originally been sent to exterminate the boll weevil, and had
gradually developed into general agricultural advisers and had
led to the introduction in that section of diversified farming,
inspired him with the thought that the ideal unit of scientific,
agricultural instruction was the county. He saw that the
opportunities which an agricultural expert had in working in
a restricted area gave him an advantage over any other pos-
sible method, by reason of the fact that it enabled him to get
into personal relationships with each farmer, and to add to the
mere cold, hard, scientific instruction the persuasive power of
personal contact, and, by persistent application upon the indi-
vidual farmer, to induce him to try the methods which science
had proven were good and practicable.

Up to this time there were no county agents in the north,
and I believe the term "farm bureau" was entirely unknown.
Certainly there was no co-operative county association under
the leadership of what are now known as farm bureau agents
anywhere in the country. Professor Spillman welcomed the
opportunity to experiment in a section such as that of the
southern tier of New York, where he believed the conditions
ideal to demonstrate the practicability of his plan, and when
he found the Lackawanna Railroad ready to contribute the
funds necessary for at least one-half of the support of the
bureau the first year, and the Binghamton Chamber of Com-
merce one-fourth, he found funds available in the United States
Department for the remainder, and in March, 1911, the Broome
County Farm Bureau was organized. This Bureau is the pro-
totype of the farm bureaus in the United States, and the
Lackawanna Railroad Company takes a great deal of pride,
which we hope you will regard as pardonable, in having been
a co-author of that work.

The first year or two of the Broome County Farm Bureau
was a very trying one, owing to a variety of causes, such as

108 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

the unfamiliarity of the farmers in that particular region with
scientific methods, skepticism as to the practicabiHty of any-
thing particularly new or progressive, and, we must admit, a
certain hesitancy to accept anything so freely offered by a
railroad corporation and a chamber of commerce. The work
did not become really successful until an association of farmers
was with some little difficulty formed and financial support
obtained therefrom. I never saw a better illustration of the
fact that where your treasure is there will your heart be also,
than in this work, and I am now a firmer believer than ever
in the fact that if you want to get a man's interest you had
better first get his capital.

This was soon followed by a contribution from the county
itself through its board of supervisors, so that to-day these
two agencies, the Farm Bureau Association and the board of
supervisors, contribute over two-thirds of the total expense.
Of course, with the development of the farm bureau throughout
the nation, and under the provisions of the Smith-Lever Act,
the United States government and the State governments con-
tribute to such farm bureaus, I think, $600 each per annum
for their support, in addition to furnishing through the State
colleges all of the assistance and direction necessary to make
the county agent successful.

Following the Broome County Bureau in 1912 the formation
of the farm bureau of Cortland County was brought about
by the Lackawanna Railroad on lines similar to these already
described. Cortland County has become one of the banner
farm bureaus of the United States, and a visit to that county
will show you the farmers almost unanimous in its praise.
Shortly following that came Chemung County, and then others
in rapid succession.

I have just received a letter from Honorable Raymond A,
Pearson, assistant secretary of agriculture at Washington. He
says: —

I recall clearly your active interest in establishing the county agency
in Broome County, New York, in 1911, the first county agency in any
northern State. As Commissioner of Agriculture of New York State at
that time, it was my privilege to discuss this matter with you. I remember
how you took this matter up with the business men and farmers, and

Tart II.] RELATION OF THE RAILROAD. 109

then succeeded in getting an allotment of funds from, and the co-opera-
tion of, the Federal Department of Agriculture. This work must have
been well done, because it has stood the test of six or seven years, and it
has been followed bj^ the location of county agents in a very large number
of counties. Of the 2,850 rural counties in this country, 1,900 now have
count}^ agents, and about 1,200 of these have women demonstration
agents, an outgro^vth, by the way, of the farm bureau plan. I always
thought that the interest of your road in this matter came from a genuine
appreciation of the fact that the railroad business and the farmer's busi-
ness, to a large extent, depend upon each other. In the present emergency
the importance of these great industries in their intimate relations are
being emphasized as never before.

Incidentally, if I may be permitted to play upon the phrase
"The Relation of the Railroad to the Farmer," you may be
interested to know that the author of this letter, Raymond A.
Pearson, the assistant secretary of agriculture, is a brother of E.
J. Pearson, the president of New England's principal railroad.

The county farm bureau under competent management is,
in our opinion, unquestionably the best medium not only for
disseminating scientific information, but for bringing about
among the farmers co-operative action along many lines where
until recently they have been suffering seriously from too great
a degree of individualism. This feature manifests itself in a
variety of ways. On the one hand, we find farmers, through
the farm bureaus, purchasing their supplies, agricultural imple-
ments, fertilizers and w^hat not at very much more favorable
terms than would otherwise be possible, and with a much
better prospect of prompt delivery by reason of the quantity
of the shipments. On the other hand, they are in many cases
making possible the sale and shipment of farm products under
much more favorable terms than heretofore, the farm bureau
agent being located generall}^ in one of the principal cities of
the county, and in contact with the general consuming public,
either directly or through the agency of some railroad, thus
finding markets of superior attractiveness and securing im-
proved treatment at the hands of the distributors in those
markets. The possibilities along the latter line are very great,
and w^e look to see counties acting as units of distribution
with very promising results, both to the farmer and to the
consumer.

no BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

In several other respects, the farm bureaus have, particu-
larly during the past year, proven of a high degree of useful-
ness. An interesting illustration of this is had in the meeting
called by the Lackawanna Railroad at Binghamton, New York,
on the 7th of April, 1917, at which the farm bureau managers
of 15 counties were present, accompanied each by four of his
Farm Bureau Association directors. These 65 representative
authorities on farm needs and opportunities were gathered
together with some 40 of the leading business men and bankers
of Binghamton, Cortland, Norwich and Elmira and one or
two other cities, and an entire day was spent in the discussion
of ways and means to increase the production of the counties
represented to meet the demand for foodstuffs growing out of
the entrance of this country into war.

The effects of that meeting have been continuous throughout
the subsequent period, and have resulted in a number of im-
portant, and, in some cases, original movements. Through the
impetus flowing from this meeting, and by the instrumentality
of the railroad company, over 30 carloads of seed potatoes,
which apparently could not otherwise have been obtained, were
brought into the section involved. The use of tractors for
plowing has been successfully experimented with, and will un-
doubtedly be largely increased in the coming season. Perhaps
the most notable of all has been the response to the request
of the farmers for labor. In this matter the farm bureau
agents have acted as a medium for the temporary transfer of
employees of manufacturers in Binghamton, Cortland, Norwich
and Elmira to the farms of Broome, Cortland, Chenango and
Chemung counties. This has been made possible by the un-
precedented action of the large employers of labor in those
cities in releasing a considerable number of their men for
periods of from one to four weeks in the planting and harvest-
ing seasons for general farm labor, to which also the railroad
company has contributed a number of its section men for such
rough work as plowing. In all cases the city employers have
paid their employees the difference between the ruling price of
farm labor and the wages which they were receiving in the
city. Several hundred men have worked on the farms under
this arrangement, and all reports are that it has been of real

Part II.] RELATION OF THE RAILROAD. Ill

value to the farmers in the emergency existing, and has con-
tributed materially to the increase of acreage under cultivation.
All of this would have been entirely impossible but for the
agency of the farm bureau, through which all of the operations
were conducted.

The possibilities of these farm bureaus, aided by the ever-
willing service of the railroad company, in the matter of im-
proved methods for securing labor, the introduction of farm
machinery, and, particularly, in the yet undeveloped field of
better marketing conditions, are, in our opinion, most attrac-
tive, and, in fact, hold the promise of greater usefulness than
anything yet accomplished.

But I have taxed your patience too long to add to my nar-
rative anything in the nature of prophecy. Indeed, vision best
realizes itself by avoiding the uncertain field of prophecy, and
I can best close this rather desultory talk by expressing to
you the hope of the railroad man whom you have honored
with your presence this evening, that we may, as railroad men
and farmers, together look forward, as representatives of the
nation's two greatest industries, to working shoulder to shoulder
in the future, as we have in the past, for the common good
of our common country.

Third Day.
Dr. Alexander Cairns, Lecturer of the United States Food
Administration, opened the meeting with an interesting talk on
''Feeding the Multitudes," and was followed by Miss Sarah
Louise Arnold, Dean, Simmons College, Boston, who spoke on
"War Service Through Food Conservation."

112 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

WAR SERVICE THROUGH FOOD CONSERVATION.

SARAH LOUISE ARNOLD.

This paper is intended to present a summary of experience
gathered in deahng intimately with the women of Massachu-
setts in the various appeals made by the government for co-
operation in food economy. These appeals for co-operation
have to be interpreted and applied to groups differing widely
in circumstances and abilities. The city dweller who lives from
hand to mouth, having no storage facilities, depending upon the
market or the corner grocerj^ and upon a limited weekly in-
come, cannot deal with food conservation on the basis which
must be accepted by the farmer's wife, isolated on the hills of
the country town. Furthermore, in any given community con-
ditions are likewise dissimilar. The average homekeeper, feed-
ing her family from an average income and preparing all the
food which is set upon her table, differs from the mother in the
crowded tenement who buys most of her food from the delica-
tessen, and on the other hand from the head of the house
whose administration involves employing from five to fifteen
servants.

Yet the purpose of the government is to inform, to persuade
and to win the co-operation of every woman in the community.
Some headway has been made in this campaign, and this paper
will attempt to set forth the various problems presented, the
progress which seems to have been made and the outlook
ahead.

As will be remembered, when Washington declared that food
will win the war the announcement was dimly understood. It
had not the familiar sound of the slogan as we hear it to-day,
or the familiar aspect as we read it, facing us at every street
corner and even upon the envelopes which enclose our morning's

Part II.] FOOD CONSERVATION. 113

mail. The message was strange, and it had to be explained.
•Exactly as the nation had to be aroused to the fact that every
citizen was concerned in paying for the war and must be made
enthusiastic in support of the government, so the relation of
food to the war demanded a campaign to stimulate enthusiasm.

Those who were most intelligent concerning this problem saw
clearly in the beginning that the food campaign presented three
sets of problems, — first, the production of food; second, the
distribution of food, including not only transportation but
reasonable apportionment; and third, the conservation or the
proper use of food.

It is perfectly evident that each of these subjects is big
enough to demand the attention of the government, to require
all the experience which notable authorities can share with us,
and also that the understanding of the problem in the home
requires a re-education of the people. The city dweller who
has ordered food supplies by telephone has given little thought
to the source of these supplies, or to the problem of bringing
them to her door, perhaps across thousands of miles, over land
or sea, by train or by ship. Neither has she understood all
that is involved in seed time and harvest, nor has she dreamed
of the difficulties attending storage and delivery. In order to
make ''food win the war," therefore, there must be an increase
of understanding on the part of the government and of the
people. All this has been involved in the campaign.

It will be remembered that our first awakening came with the
planting last spring. The vigorous committees on public
safety had placed the responsibility for this campaign upon
their committees on food production. The work of the Massa-
chusetts Committee on Food Production was notably strong
and wise.

Let me say here what those who are present already clearly
understand. The Massachusetts Committee on Food Produc-
tion was made up of experts who had for years been con-
cerned with the production of food. The Federal Department
of Agriculture and the State of Massachusetts were repre-
sented by the Massachusetts Agricultural College, the State
Board of Agriculture, the grange in its permanent volunteer
organization, together with individuals whose private enter-

114 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

prise had developed knowledge and ability in matters of food
production. All these were tied together in and by the com-
mittee. One supreme task which is involved in the food cam-
paign is the bringing together of the expert and volunteer in
such relations as make for efficient service. This cannot be
accomplished in a minute. We do not grow in understanding
b}^ an instantaneous revelation. Knowledge comes slowly and
is always costly. In this working out of the common problem
the expert and the volunteer are marching side by side. In the
food campaign this has been particularly true. The State
therefore was to be congratulated upon the make-up of its food
committee.

The enthusiasm and patriotism of the volunteer has somehow
to become a genuine re-inforcement to the expert who knows
the field. His experience must be shared with a new recruit,
and at the same time he must guard against dangers which
attend enthusiasm when yoked with ignorance or inexperience.
The volunteers, both men and women, worked well with the
food committee.

To go back, the government at Washington, in forecasting
the problems of the war, was assured that America must
supply the Allies with food, and that to this end the food
supply must be increased. Seed time was upon us. The need
of haste was clear. Every one remembers the enthusiasm and
devotion with which the farmer increased his labors, the planter
plowed up his fields and the small householder laid out his gar-
den. The expert and the novice, the wise and the otherwise,
outdid one another in contagious enthusiasm. In the food-pro-
duction campaign the country was with the government.

Then came our first introduction to food conservation. The
bill authorizing food control was held up in Congress. Activi-
ties involving the distribution of food, and directions concern-
ing the use of food, were delayed. At last, without waiting for
the passage of the bill, the President empowered Mr. Hoover to
lead the volunteer forces of the American nation in matters re-
lating to the conservation of food. Even before this the Fed-
eral Department of Agriculture, out of its vast experience, fore-
saw the essential need, and stimulated the work of conservation
which was already under way.

Part II.] FOOD COXSERVATIOX. 115

To this audience the farm bureau, established by the Depart-
ment of Agriculture in the counties of the various States, is a
familiar neighbor. To many dwellers in cities and to some
rural regions this neighbor is unknown. The idea of food con-
servation which had been extended in the south through the
canning clubs, and all over the country by the home economics
workers related to the Department of Agriculture, was never-
theless introduced to many citizens of the United States as an
emergency war measure. They became aware that they must
conserve food because they were told that food must win the
war.

The thoughtful observer will at once recognize the truth that
universal conservation of food for the American people involved
a complete overturning of habits and ideals. In the first place,
the choice, preparation and use of food has always been in this
country a personal and private affair. Every individual ate
what he liked and when he wanted to eat. The business of the
family purveyor was to please the family palate, to tickle the
appetite. The mother considered her task performed when
every one liked the food provided and the children throve and
waxed fat. The essential uses of food were seldom considered.
Every one stopped eating when he felt that he had had enough,
or when the supply gave out. How much was enough no one
could say.

Think, then, the miracle required to make us all realize that
our choice of foods and use of foods was a community affair, a
matter of government concern, of national and even interna-
tional importance. No campaign of education ever undertaken
has come so close to the entire nation, has required of every in-
dividual so complete a change of habits and ideals in intimate,
personal and family affairs.

It was natural that Mr. Hoover, coming from the vivid ex-
perience of feeding a nation under difficult and bitter conditions,
should have had clearly in mind the contrast between the gen-
erous food supplies on the American table and the carefidly
measured and often inadequate amounts doled out to the
starving Belgians. The machinery involved in measuring and
distributing the essential foods to an entire people was perhaps
for the first time clearly conceived. The directions from

116 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

Washington vvhich came both from the Department of Agri-
culture and from the Food Administration urged a united
people to a common activity in the production and the con-
servation of food.

The enthusiasm for seed planting, then, was followed by the
preserving of all surplus perishable foods so far as this was
possible. The canning movement was named the ^'conserva-
tion movement," and to many minds the two names meant the
same thing. The movement for drying foods and vegetables
followed, and although this was less widely extended, it clearly
increased the preservation of perishable foods.

The canning groups brought women together and gave them
a sense of the common purpose. This was of vital importance.
The shelf upon shelf of canned goods tucked away for the
winter gave the housewife a sense of protection for the coming
season. This, too, was good. Grocers reported that the accu-
mulation of canned goods thus prepared has made a wide differ-
ence in the available surplus which can be sold and shipped,
and has doubtless made a more economical provision for the
year's feeding of the family.

Out of the many discussions that attended the canning and
drying, certain things became clearly evident. First, that the
home provider of food must practice two sorts of food conserva-
tion. She must be able to provide her family with essential
foods at the lowest possible price, and she must, so far as
possible, choose these essential foods from those supplies
within reach which are not needed for our Allies and our boys
at the front.

Much confusion in our thinking has come from the fact that
we have not distinguished between these two forms of food
economy. Food saving may help the Allies and it may not.
Ever\'thing depends upon the good sense with which it is ad-
ministered. To let alone, so far as we can, those precious food-
stuffs which can be shipped, and svhich are in compact form,
occupying the least possible space, — this is a prime patriotic
duty. This is sometimes called '' patriotic economy." This
may not be personal or individual economy. To choose for
our own use from our abundant foodstuffs those which are
least needed by our Allies or are least available for them, this

Part 11.] FOOD COXSERVATIOX. 117

is our first duty in food conservation. Another phase of patri-
otic use of foods has likewise become clear. We must share
our common supplies and the common risk. The putting away
of food in cans was not solely for our individual advantage.
Our thrift released supplies which we must otherwise have
bought. But when delays in transportation cause a shortage in
essentials, our thinking must be in terms of the community
need. When there is not sugar enough to go round, laying in
a barrel of sugar for a family of two cannot be considered an
admirable example of thrift. We begin to ask, "Who needs it
most?" We behave as becomes the "soldiers of the common
good." We squarely and cheerfully share the common hard-
ship and the common risk.

But another duty is likewise a community obligation, — to
provide essential food for our families with the least possible
expense. To this end the woman who buys and cooks food
needs to know what essential foods are required for the family,
and how much is enough. She has been wisely cautioned not to
waste food by throwing away any particle which might give
strength or energy to any human being, or maintain conditions
required for growth. This she carefully practices. But the in-
telligence which wisely chooses and measures has not been com-
mon. It is not common to-day, but the women of the country
are giving earnest attentioh to this fundamental duty, and are
adding to their knowledge of food values. This, too, is food
conservation.

Now we come to certain problems in directing food conserva-
tion. These two types of food economy are presented to the
nation through general appeals from Washington, and by vari-
ous committees and authorities concerned in food conservation.
A'olunteers spring up on every hand to help in the good work
and instruct the people. Discussion and argument, question
and quibble are heard on every hand. The necessity for food
conservation, the wisdom or the folly of doing without are
valiantly supported and vigorously challenged. Why are we
not of one accord? Because we have not realized that we are
carrying the message to families of varying needs, dealing with
widely different conditions. To each group the message must
be interpreted. In the first place, every community contains,

118 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

in the rough, three groups — the well-to-do or rich; the large
middle group, who by thoughtful planning can live reasonably
well upon the available income; and the unfortunate remainder,
whose income barely suffices at best to secure the necessaries of
life.

Economj' in the use of food cannot be preached in the same
language to all three groups. Economy is not a word having a
fixed meaning. That which is economy for one would be rank
prodigality for another. The mother who lives with her grow-
ing children in two crowded rooms of a tenement house, trying
on Saturday night to spend the contents of the weekly pay
envelope for the things which must be had, and doing without
all which the scant money will not buy, will surely resent the
appeal to do without this, that or the other food. All her life
she has been doing without essential things. This war which
requires further sacrifice and hardship is a bitter thing. She
does not understand when asked to save.

And we who carry the message have had a limited under-
standing. The duty of the community here is not simply to
urge saving, but to watch carefully the provision of essential
foods, and to be absolutely sure that the rapid advancement in
the cost of living is not forcing hunger and consequent weak-
ness upon the children of the poor.

This is the big problem of food conservation in the cities, and
here we discern the bigger meaning of food conservation.
Because this problem is already with us, those who share the
community obligations are facing a large responsibility in these
anxious days. We cannot sit back quietly unmindful of the
hardships which are borne by those families who are unable to
provide the essential foods for their children. This problem is
heaviest in the crowded city and in the homes where the income
has not advanced at the rate of advancement in the cost of liv-
ing. To bring within reach of the family income an adequate
supply of milk, bread, potatoes and meat, — this is a very real
problem of food conservation, and bears heavily upon the city.

In no single item of food is this problem more apparent than
in the provision and distribution of milk, the indispensable food
for children, for we have to consider not only the cost of pro-
viding and distributing the milk, but the relation of the price

Part II.] FOOD CONSERVATION. 119

of milk to the amount of money available for food. Before we
have been able to teach the tenement-house mother that milk
is still the most valuable food obtainable for the price, she has
cut down the supply below the amount required for the family's
health. There is no adequate substitute for the milk. The
children must have it; mothers who are nursing their babies
must have it. It is the simplest and most grateful food for the
sick, and somehow it must be made available. This is as we
all know a big and complex problem of food conservation, and
concerning this problem it behooves us all to become com-
pletely intelligent and to share common responsibility for
establishing right conditions.

From the above it seems evident, then, that the food con-
servation message must be presented with care to those among
us who are fighting to keep the wolf from the door. For
them it is of prim.e importance to buy that food which will
nourish and sustain the body at the least possible cost. For
the great majority of our population this is the important ques-
tion. It is most difficult of solution for the city dweller, who
must live from hand to mouth, who is dependent upon trans-
portation with all its present difficulties, and who is at the
mercy of the fluctuating costs of living. The farmer, in the
separate country home, has bins filled with potatoes and other
winter vegetables; he houses barrels of apples and the indis-
pensable pork barrel; he keeps hens and cows to increase the
food supply; and he can live off the land. To his family food
conservation has a difi'erent aspect. Those who have always
been accustomed to a private store which has always proved
more than adequate are with difficulty persuaded that economy
is necessary for them, or that the covimori endeavor to save is
essential to fulfilling our pledges to the Allies and forwarding
the necessary food supplies.

We must therefore subtract from the immediate working
army in food conservation two large groups, — first, the city
dweller of very limited means, and these make up a large
group of our population; and second, any isolated dwellers in
the country, accustomed to reserves of food and to independent
living, who fail or learn but slowly, to recognize themselves as
needed in the essential armv of food conservation.

120 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

Greater effort and larger sacrifices must then be made by
those who clearly understand the situation. More and more
teachers and interpreters are needed to make plain that the
world famine calls for sacrifice on the part of every one of us.
Even the poorest family can deliberately choose to eat corn
bread instead of wheat bread when prices are even, to choose
fish or beans instead of meat; while those who have margin
and likewise understanding should absolutely deny themselves
the foods which must be shipped abroad, to make up for the
inevitable failure on the part of many who do not make a
similar choice. It is quite true that if every individual in the
country gave up seven-eighths of a loaf of bread a week we
might ship across the required supply of wheat to our Allies;
but because understanding comes slowly, and many who fail
to understand will make less than this saving, it will surely be
incumbent upon those who see and understand to make ten
times over the sacrifice required.

Just so far, then, as one has wealth and can make free choice,
or because of added intelligence and experience can deal wisely
with foods, we must expect of him the larger sacrifice, the com-
plete conformity. Exactly as the volunteer leaps into the
arena, so those of clear vision must shoulder the responsibility.

One of our responsibilities, however, is patience and persist-
ence in teaching the truth to those who even now are failing to
understand. We must extend the enthusiasm for food conser-
vation; and this we must do by every available means. Abso-
lute necessity will come to our aid as it did with the recent
sugar shortage. When Finland is eating bread made from
beech buds, and when France is apportioning 7 ounces of bread
a day to her men and women at home, we must expect to come
upon days when we shall be glad to do without this, that or the
other food to which we have become habituated. And so far
as we can we must help our people to meet the situation with
courage, with cheerfulness, as well as with intelligence.

Heroic work has been done thus far by the farm bureaus and
the county agents throughout the State. The volunteer soci-
eties — the women's clubs, the civic federations, the special aid
societies, the granges and the churches — have swung into line
and are lending their aid. But we still need the devotion and

Part II.] FOOD CONSERVATION. 121

consecration of the individual who is determined to stand by
the government, who is absolutely ready to follow directions,
and who meets the message from Washington with swift and
ready compliance rather than with challenge and doubt. Mis-
takes will doubtless be made. If the individual finds it im-
possible to avoid them, the government cannot be expected to
advance without blunders. But if the goal is clear, and if
every one marches straight toward it, we shall arrive in the
end, even if we stumble on the way. The thing most needed is
the clear understanding that every one of us is enlisted in the
food conservation army, and that every one will gladly sacrifice
his personal pleasure for the sake of the common good.

We are seated at a common table. It stretches across the
sea. Through our hands, because of the abundance of our
harvest, bread will go to those starving men, women and chil-
dren across the sea. Our prayer shall be, not as before, "Give
W5 this day our daily bread," but rather, "Give them, O God,
their daily bread. Give them through us their daily bread."

When we come to pray this prayer before partaking of our
bread or meat we shall have come to understand all the great
purpose of food conservation, and having once discerned the
soul of the message we shall know how to carry it across.

It was said in the old days, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of
God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added
unto you." Even so, as soon as we clearly recognize that the
lives of starving men and women depend upon our sacrifice, as
soon as we are completely possessed by the great motive of food
conservation, then we shall learn how to practice it, for all the
necessary knowledge "shall be added unto us."

ESSAYS.

(Especially prepared for the Sdcty-Fifth Annual Report.)

COMMON POTATO DISEASES AND THEIR CONTEOL.

A. VINCENT OSMUN, AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS.

The potato is subject to some of the most destructive diseases
affecting cultivated crops, and the losses are often very heavy.
There are, however,
definite and effective
control measures for
most of these diseases,
and proper attention
to them will not only
reduce losses to a min-
imum but will often
actually increase the
yield. Diseases which
attack the foliage are
controlled by spraying
with fungicides; for
those which work on
the tubers and stems
other control measures
must be applied.

The effectiveness of
spraying potatoes de-
pends on keeping the
vines thoroughly cov-
ered with the spray
material throughout
the growing season.
This is accomplished
only by spraying at
least three or four times in ordinary seasons, and in wet
seasons at intervals of ten to fourteen days as long as the
vines remain green. In a season of frequent rains and moder-

FiQ. 1. — Early blight. (After Farmers' Bulletin No. 91,
United States Department of Agriculture.)

126

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[P. D. 4.

ate temperatures the omission of any one of the applications
may result in great loss from the late blight. Bordeaux mix-
ture has proved to be the best fungicide for potatoes, as it will
^not only effectively control blights, but seems to have a stimu-
lating effect upon the vines.

Early Blight. — This disease is caused by a fungus {Macro-
syorium solani) which attacks the leaves, producing dead round
spots marked with distinct concentric rings (Fig. 1). It appears in
Jul.y, usually before the late blight. In severe cases the leaves may
be largely killed.

Late Blight. — This is perhaps the most destructive disease of
the potato in the northern part of the United States. It is caused

by a fungus {Phytophthora infest-
ans) which attacks leaves, stems
and tubers. It is first noticeable
on the leaves as dark, watery
areas w^hich later become brown
and dry. In cool, wet weather the
disease may spread with almost
phenomenal rapidity, killing the
vines, on which the dead leaves
hang shriveled and dry (Fig. 2).
Later the vines become prostrate.
From the diseased vines the
spores of the fungus fall upon
the soil and are washed in by the
rain, infecting the tubers. On
the tubers the disease takes the
form of a dry rot. On the outside
the affected areas are discolored
and become somewhat sunken
with age; beneath these areas the
flesh becomes reddish brown and
decays to a depth of not over a quarter of an inch (Fig. 3). In
storage this rot spreads among the tubers and may cause much
loss.

In wet weather or on damp soil a watery rot is often associated
with this disease. This is due to bacteria which gain entrance from
the soil through the diseased spots.

Fig. 2. — Late blight. (After New York
(General) Experiment Station Bulletin
No. 241.)

Part II.]

POTATO DISEASES.

127

See general spraying
In addition to spray-

FiG. 3. — Late blight rot of tuber.
(After Cornell Experiment Sta-
tion Circular No. 19. )

Control.
directions,
ing, —

1. Allow no decayed or partially
decayed seed to go into storage.

2. Select clean seed tubers,
known to have come from healthy
vines.

3. Store in a fairly dry, cool
place.

4. Avoid planting on wet,
poorly drained land, or where the blight was serious the previous
year.

Scurf or Rhizoctonia. — This disease has become prevalent
throughout Massachusetts. It appears on the surface of the tuber
as small, black, hard bodies called sclerotia, which appear like
particles of soil but are not easily rubbed off (Fig. 4). In severe
cases deep pits resembling wire-worm injury may be produced.
The real serious phase of the disease occurs on the young shoots,
which become affected from seed tubers. On the lower part of

these shoots dark de-

cayed spots or streaks
appear, often causing
death even "before the
shoots appear above
ground (Fig. 5). When
this occurs new sprouts
usually develop, but
these in turn are likely
to be killed or weak-
ened by the disease.
Affected shoots which
are not seriously
enough diseased to be
killed develop into
weak, sickly tops.
The so-called "little
potato disease" is a

phase of this trouble. Fiq. 4. — Scurf or Rhizoctonia, showing blaclc sclerotia on

tuber surface.

128

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[P. D. 4.

Cojitrol. — Do not plant potatoes on the same land two or more
years in succession. Avoid using seed tubers on which the black
sclerotia appear. Treat seed tubers, before cutting, with corrosive
sublimate solution (2 ounces to 15 gallons of water) for one and
one-half hours. Dissolve the corrosive sublimate in a small quantity

of hot water and dilute

to the required strength.
Tubers may be placed in
sacks or in slatted crates
for dipping, after which
they should be spread out
to dry. It is also conven-
ient to have two barrels
with spigots near the bot-
tom. One barrel is filled
with potatoes and these
are covered with the solu-
tion. After treatment the
solution is drawn off and
poured over another lot
of tubers in the second
barrel. The tubers in
the first barrel are then
spread out to dry and
the barrel refilled. The
solution may be used
three times, it being
necessary only to keep
the quantity up to the
original amount by add-
ing more of the same
strength. The barrels are
set on boxes with a space between for convenience in drawing
off the solution into pails. Treated tubers may be planted
at once or stored, but care must be taken not to reinfect them
by placing in infected sacks, crates or bins. The sacks or crates
used for dipping may be employed for storage purposes when
dry.

Fia 5. — Showing effect of Rhizoctonia on young
shoots. (After Maine Experiment Station Bulletin
No. 230.)

Part II.

POTATO DISEASES.

129

FiQ. 6. — Scab.

Scab. — This disease appears as rough, scabby areas on the
tuber surface (Fig. 6). It is caused by one of the higher bacteria
which live in the soih The disease does not penetrate the flesh of
the potato, and its chief
harm is the unsightly ap-
pearance which it gives to
the tubers, thus reducing
their market value. Shrink-
ing and loss of weight in
storage result from rapid
evaporation of moisture
through the scabby surface.

Control. — Do not plant
on land from which scabby
potatoes were harvested the previous year. Avoid the use of
lime, wood ashes and basic slag, as scab develops more freely
in alkaline soils. Stable manure also favors development of the
disease.

Treatment of " seed " tubers to destroy the scab organism should
always precede planting. It is advisable to use corrosive sublimate
solution recommended for scurf, as this is equally effective against
scab. This should be done before sprouts start and before cutting;
otherwise injury may result. Soaking in formaldehyde solution
(1 pint to 30 gallons of water) for two hours will kill the scab
organism, but this is not efficient against scurf, which is becoming
more common and troublesome than scab in Massachusetts.

Blackleg. — This is a bacterial disease. It causes early rotting
of seed tubers after planting. From these it spreads upward
through the young shoots, which turn black and rot below the
ground (Fig. 7). Diseased plants are stunted, turn yellow and die
early without setting tubers. The disease, which is usually most
troublesome in heavy, wet soils, is now of frequent occurrence in
Massachusetts.

Control. — Control measures should begin with the selection of
clean, sound seed tubers. Disinfection of seed tubers for scurf and
scab will kill any of the blackleg bacteria which may be on the sur-
face, but this will be of no avail if the tubers are in the least decayed,
as the solution will not reach the interior.

130

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[P. D. 4.

Fig. 7. — Blackleg, showing blackened base of young shoot which has
become diseased from decayed seed piece. (After Wisconsin Experi-
ment Station Circular No. 52.)

Part II.] POTATO DISEASES. 131

Dry Rot and Wilt. — This disease, caused by a fungus (Fusa-
rium), attacks both tubers and stems. In the tuber it causes brown
discoloration of the so-called bundle ring just beneath the surface.
This is easily seen when an infected tuber is cut crosswise at the
stem end (Fig. 8). In storage the fungus may cause a dry, pow-
dery rotting of the entire interior of the tuber. The disease spreads

Fig. 8. — Dry rot, showing discolored bundle ring at stem end of tubers. (After
Bulletin No. 55, Bureau Plant Industry, United States Department of Agri-
culture.)

upward from infected seed tubers into the stems, causing them to
turn yellow, wilt and die prematurely. Often diseased plants may
be detected before wilting by their stunted, yellow appearance.

Control. — Discard all seed tubers which show discoloration of
the bundle ring at the stem end. Do not plant for five years on
land where the disease has occurred.

Sprays.

Potatoes are sprayed principally for the control of early and late
blights and for insect pests. The following schedule is adapted to
Massachusetts conditions : —

First Spray. — When the plants are about 6 inches high, use
Bordeaux mixture (4-4-50 formula), to which should be added
3 to 6 pounds of lead arsenate paste or 2 to 3| pounds of lead
arsenate powder for each 50 gallons.

Second Spray. — Ten days to two weeks after the first applica-
tion, using the same mixture.

Subsequent Sprays. — The crop should be sprayed with sufficient
frequency to keep the vines well covered with spray material. In
wet seasons this may mean as often as every ten days, but ordina-

132 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

rily once in two weeks, as long as the vines remain green, will suffice
to keep diseases and insects under control, providing the work is
done thoroughly. For all spraying after the first two applications
use the 5-5-50 Bordeaux mixture, with the same amounts of
lead arsenate.

Directions for making Bordeaux Mixture.
Bordeaux mixture is composed of copper sulphate (blue vitriol),
lime and water, and these substances are combined in various pro-
portions'for different purposes. The following directions are for
making a standard solution known as " 4-4-50 Bordeaux mix-
ture." The first figure in this and similar formulas indicates
pounds of copper sulphate; the second, pounds of lime; the third,
gallons of water.

1. Dissolve 4 pounds of copper sulphate crystals in about 2 gal-
lons of hot water, using a wooden container, or dissolve by sus-
pending the crystals in a coarse sack in a half barrel of water.

2. Slake 4 pounds of fresh lime in a wooden tub or half barrel,
adding water slowly and in no greater quantity than is necessary
to insure thorough slaking. Upon completion of the slaking
enough water may be added and stirred in to make the mixture
the consistency of thick cream.

3. When cold the lime mixture is poured through a wire strainer
(about 20 meshes to the inch) into the spray barrel and water added
to half fill the barrel. Straining is necessary to remove particles
which would clog the spray nozzle. The copper solution, diluted
to 15 or 20 gallons, is poured slowly into the lime mixture and
water added to fill the barrel. The mixture, promptly and thor-
oughly stirred, is then ready for use.

When large quantities of Bordeaux mixture are required it is
more convenient and economical of time to make up stock solu-
tions of copper sulphate and lime as follows : —

1. Dissolve copper sulphate crystals in a barrel at the rate of
1 pound of crystals to each gallon of water.

2. Slake a quantity of fresh lime and dilute it to make up a so-
lution containing 1 pound of lime to each gallon of water.

3. Thoroughly stir both stock solutions before removing por-
tions for dilution, in order to insure even distribution of the
ingredients.

Part II.] POTATO DISEASES. 133

To mix for spraying, 4 gallons of the lime solution is strained
into the spray barrel and made up to 25 gallons; 4 gallons of the
copper solution further diluted is poured in and the barrel filled
with water. Prompt and thorough stirring completes the mixture
for use.

To make the 5-5-50 mixture, simply increase the amounts of
copper sulphate and lime by 1 pound each.

134 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

COMMON STORAGE OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.

EDWARD HOWE FORBUSH.

Introduction.

The object of this circular is to furnish indispensable informa-
tion to many amateurs now engaged in producing a surplus of
vegetables and fruits for fall and winter use.

In many towns almost every house has its garden; some are
mere patches of a few square feet, others combine the ordinary
garden with much of the back yard and even the lawn. Many
lawns have been plowed and planted to potatoes. Vegetable
seeds of all kinds have been sown, and in most cases the
plants are up and already flourishing. Extra care is being
taken to produce an unusual fruit crop. If these' efforts are
successful a great surplus of perishable products will be forth-
coming, the markets will be overcrowded, and unless suitable
storage facilities are provided, forthwith, a large part of the
food products raised will be wasted. On the other hand, if
these vegetables and fruits can be properly stored and cared
for, a much-needed addition to the food supply will be saved.

Farmers may find the early markets overcrowded with perish-
able products, and many will need to better or enlarge their
storage facilities in order to preserve their supplies until the
time of need that is sure to come in view of the great demand
for all food products that will attend the continuance of the
war. Hence the publication of this circular will be timely. It
is designed to treat of common storage facilities that all can
utilize, and has no reference to cold storage where ice is used.
It does not touch upon canning, which has been treated of in
Circular No. 55, nor upon drying fruits and vegetables, which is
taken up in Farmers' Bulletin 841, issued by the United States
Department of Agriculture at Washington.

t a

O J3

Part II.] STORAGE OF FARISI PRODUCTS. 135

House and Cellar Storage.

Storage to be successful requires suitable moisture and tem-
perature, proper ventilation of the storage chamber and suffi-
cient maturity of the fruits and vegetables stored therein. The
conditions vary somewhat with different products, but most of
them may be stored successfully in a well-drained cellar or cave
properly ventilated, where a temperature between 32° and 40° F.
may be maintained during the winter.

Most dwelling houses to-day have cellars, and the cellar
always has been the chief storeroom for fruits and vegetables.
In some parts of the State many farmers have no cellar worthy
of the name, and there are some old houses in southeastern
Massachusetts that are provided with only a mere pit lined
with brick, or a hole in the ground. Many, however, are
heated by means of a furnace or other heater situated in the
cellar, and such are unfit for the storage of vegetables and
fruits, as heat and lack of moisture tend to dry out or rot such
products. For this reason many people have given up storing
fruit and vegetables in recent years, and have bought these
articles in small quantities from week to week at excessive cost.
As a matter of economy this practice should be given up. As
the cellar is the most convenient place, it is important to pro-
vide adequate facilities for storage therein or connected there-
with.

Storage in or near Heated Cellars.

The chief objection to the storage of vegetables in the house
cellar is that disagreeable if not unhealthful odors arise from
decaying material. This trouble may be avoided by proper
ventilation. Every cellar wall sJiould he proof against rats.
Walls made of properly tempered concrete are rat-proof, and if
such walls extend 3 feet underground rats will not burrow be-
neath them. On side hills, however, where one end of the
cellar wall is exposed, it is necessary to have a concrete floor
underlaid with 6 inches of gravel to prevent rats burrowing into
the cellar. Rat-proofing of cellars and buildings is fully de-
scribed on page 33 of Economic Biology Bulletin No. 1, "Rats
and Rat Riddance," published by the Massachusetts State
Board of Agriculture.

136 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

Partitioning the Cellar.
In most houses the heater is situated under the main part of
the house, and where there is an ell with the cellar extending
under it, this may be partitioned off and used for storage. A
double brick partition with an air space betvv'een the two walls
and the interstices between the brick thoroughly plastered,
makes a fairly good barrier, if supplied with a door on each
side. A double door is necessary for insulation. Where it is
necessary to enter the storage cellar and go through it to reach
the heater, the doors should be arranged with springs or weights
to close them. A double board wall may be used nailed to
upright 2 by 4 timbers. These walls may be lined with heavy
building paper. Where eelgrass, commonly known as seaweed,
is available, the spaces between the boards may be filled with
this, as it is one of the best insulating substances. Sawdust,
ground cork or mill shavings may be used. All of these ma-
terials must be dry when put in and must be kept dry. The
storage cellar should be ceiled overhead with matched boards
and heavy building paper, or by using plastered ceiling. A still
better but more expensive plan is a double ceiling with the
paper between the boards. Ventilation may be secured by
using a cellar window or windows, by means of which cold
air may be let in. Windows should be double, or, better still,
have a wooden shutter on the outside of each window frame.

Storage Closet in Cellar.
An inexpensive closet may be made in a heated cellar, which
will contain all the fruits and vegetables needed for an ordinary
family. A corner of the north side of the cellar should be
selected containing a window if possible. Otherwise a window
should be put in for ventilation. The cellar furnishes two sides
of the closet, and the others may be made from boards, con-
crete or brick. Hollow tile makes excellent partitions, but in
any case space of at least 6 inches should be provided between
the walls, and they should be made tight, and lined with heavy
paper. If boards are utilized it may be necessary to use con-
crete or cement to m.ake a tight joint where the walls join those

Part II.] STORAGE OF FARISI PRODUCTS. 137

of the cellar. The closet should have double doors. Such a
closet 8 feet square will meet the needs of an ordinary family.
In general, the dirt floor is best for storage purposes, particu-
larly if the cellar is well drained (as all cellars should be), as
the earth provides sufficient moisture; but in the case of a con-
crete floor it will be well to keep a pail of water in the closet.
Fruits and roots may be put in such a closet when the weather
becomes too cool for storage outdoors. A thermometer should
be hung halfway up the wall of the closet, and the temperature
should be kept nearly uniform and not very far above the
freezing point. This can be regulated by means of a double
window, through which cold air may be let in, and by the
double door, through which warm air may be admitted in case
of very severe weather and danger from frost.

House Rooms or Closets.
Rooms or closets in heated houses are not proper storing
places for most fruits and vegetables. Usually there is not
sufficient moisture or ventilation, and the temperature cannot
be kept uniform, but in houses where regulated heaters keep up
a certain degree of heat day and night, fruits or vegetables may
be kept in rooms or closets not directly heated and not exposed
to freezing temperature, particularly if they are wrapped in
tissue paper or newspaper, which helps to retain moisture, and
enclosed in boxes or barrels. Such storage, however, should
not be attempted wherever cellar or pit storage can be resorted
to, except perhaps for squashes.

Storage in Barn Cellar.
Root crops for the feeding of cattle are stored commonly in
barn cellars that are free from frost. In some cases it may be
necessary to cover the roots with straw, meadow hay, corn
fodder or seaweed, as an additional protection. Barn cellars
that are reasonably clean may be used for storing a surplus of
roots and vegetables for market or for home use, but for this
the outdoor root cellar or cave is preferable.

138 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

Root Cellar connected with House Cellars.
Lacking cold storage, one of the best possible means of
storage is the root cellar. This is most convenient if connected
with the house cellar, and may be built under the house, or
outside the house and connected with the cellar. Such a cellar
should have concrete walls and a slightly pitched roof, and may
be covered with planks or concrete, then with a layer of sod,
then with 2 to 3 feet of earth and another layer of sod carefully
placed. If the land slopes away from the house the water from
the roof will run off, and if the main cellar is dry the root
cellar should be dry. All root cellars should have ventilators to
allow excess of dampness and odors to escape, and to regulate
the temperature. The ventilator may be opened to let in cold
air except in very severe weather.

Outdoor Root Cellars.
Ordinarily few people, except farmers or those owning large
farms, will go to the trouble and expense of building a cellar or
house especially for the storage of fruits, vegetables or roots.
The experienced farmer needs no advice on such matters; but
inexperienced people purchase farms, and such need instruction
in regard to the storage of surplus products. Perhaps the best
outdoor cellar is the sod-cellar, or cave, constructed on a side
hill. If possible, this should be arranged so that the entrance
will face the south or east, that it may not be exposed to cold
north or northwest winds. This form of storage is inexpensive,
the cellar is easily constructed and frost-proof, and the earth
thrown out may be used for covering. Perhaps the best form
of cellar is that built of concrete. This will be rat-proof and
also waterproof if a well-drained site be selected. If the cellar
is not dry a tile drain should be constructed beneath the floor
to carry off water. If the roof is arched and is not over 8 feet
wide, an 8-inch thickness of concrete and a layer of earth not
more than 2 feet thick should suffice to cover the cellar. The
front wall which is exposed directly to the frost should be
double, with an air space and double doors. It is well also to
have a screen door covered with wire-mesh netting for use in
ventilation and in cooling. Wood may be used instead of con-

Part II ] STORAGE OF FAIOI TRODUCTS. 139

Crete, but it is not rat-proof. The two front walls should be
1 or 2 feet apart, and the space between should be filled in with
earth. The walls may be supported by planks and the roof by
timbers and planks overlaid with a layer of sod, and 2 feet or
more of earth and a top covering of sod. Such a cellar may be
ventilated by means of a drain tile projecting from the roof.
The tile ventilator should have a raised projecting cover or roof
to shed rain, and it might be necessary to cover it tightly in
very severe weather. Such a cellar 8 feet wide and 30 feet long
would hold 700 bushels of roots. The roof may be arched or
may have rafters and a ridgepole. On level ground root cellars
are constructed partly above and partly below the surface, but
they must be well drained and provided with thick double or
triple walls with one or two wide air spaces between, and such
buildings are expensive.

Ditch Storage.
Where it is necessary to store only a small quantity of roots
a ditch in a well-drained hillside will answer every purpose. A
ditch may be dug 1 or 2 feet in width and 3 feet deep and half
filled with vegetables, such as beets and turnips, and covered
with straw or seaweed before danger of freezing. In severe
weather it may be necessary to cover with earth, over which, in
turn, boards may be laid and even another layer of straw and
one of earth. The lower end of the ditch should not be ob-
structed except by straw or similar material, on account of
drainage. The writer has kept roots and vegetables in such
ditches throughout the winter.

Outdoor Pits.
Farmers and market gardeners keep quantities of vegetables
successfully in outdoor pits, and even fruit has been kept satis-
factorily in such a manner, but fruit is likely to lose its flavor
when too near the earth. Vegetable pits are constructed on a
side hill if possible, or dug down 6 or 8 feet deep, so that the
contents are kept considerably below the surface of the ground.
Such a pit usually has a double pitch roof with an opening
covered by a 3 by 6 foot shutter, or something similar. This

140 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

allows ventilation. When the severe weather of winter is at
hand the roof and the sides, if there are any above ground, are
banked up and covered with meadow hay, straw or horse
manure to prevent freezing. If vegetables are to be kept well
into the spring the pit should be opened on cool spring nights
and closed and covered during the daytime, so that the temper-
ature may remain low. One difficulty with a pit on level
ground lies in the matter of drainage. Where the drainage is
not good it may be better to stack the vegetables on the surface
of the ground and cover them.

Surface Storage.

The writer has had excellent success in storing potatoes and
other vegetables in the open. If the ground is fairly dry
potatoes may be piled in a conical heap directly on the ground
itself, or on pine needles, or straw if there is danger of too much
moisture. The conditions requisite to success are, first, dense
shade, such as that of evergreen trees or buildings; second, pro-
tection from severe north winds during cold weather; third,
proper covering; fourth, protection from rats, mice and squirrels.
There is little danger from these rodents, however, after the
ground freezes. The pile should be made in cold weather and
should be covered at least a foot deep with straw, meadow hay
or seaweed. This may be held in place with a few boards and
allowed to stand as long as the vegetables are safe from frost.
It should then be covered with a layer of earth, and a wisp of
the roughage may be allowed to project through the top for
ventilation. This process should be continued until three layers
of straw and earth have been placed on the pile. This seems
to be sufficient protection to keep garden vegetables in Massa-
chusetts.

Special Care of Certain Products.

Some fruits or vegetables will keep better under special treat-
ment; others will keep very well until the latter part of the
winter, when they require particular care. Some need more
moisture than others, and some, like squashes, require a higher
temperature. For these reasons special instructions are needed
for such products.

Part II.] STORAGE OF FAR:\I PRODUCTS. 141

Handle with Care.
All fruits should be handled like eggs, and in preparing fruit
for storage all that is bruised or damaged should be discarded.
Windfalls should be sold for what they will bring. Pouring
fruit into barrels is likely to bruise or injure some of it, and all
such injuries impair the keeping qualities. Some vegetables are
equally fragile. The shells of squashes and the stem ends are
readily injured, and such specimens are likely to rot; therefore
care should be used in handling.

Squashes and Pumpkins.
Squashes and pumpkins should be stored in a comparatively
warm, dry atmosphere. They will keep well at a temperature
of 40° to 50° F. When placed in open crates in some upper
room near the chimney they ought to keep well if a continuous
fire keeps the chimney warm. Squashes, pumpkins and sweet
potatoes will do well often near a furnace room in the cellar,
but not in cool, moist cellars.

Parsnips, Salsify and Horse Radish.
These may be left over winter in the ground where they grew,
as freezing does not injure them and actually improves the
tenderness and flavor of parsnips. It may be more convenient,
however, to dig them and place them in piles on the ground,
covering them with 6 inches of soil.

Cabbage.
For early winter use cabbages may be stored in the cellar by
packing in barrels of sand. For later use they may be placed
in outdoor pits or trenches. Cabbages can be kept perfectly in
dry soil. Some place them heads downward; others reverse the
order. They are kept commonly by standing them on their
heads on the surface of the ground and banking them up with
earth. They are placed in long rows three heads in width.
Three heads are placed side by side and two more on these,
and earth is filled in so that the roots barely appear at the
surface. They are thus stored with the leaves intact.

142 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

Celery.

Celery plants usually are banked up or covered with earth
before frost endangers them. Then as the weather becomes
colder the resultant ridge may be covered with straw, horse
manure or corn fodder, and they may be kept thus banked until
cold weather. They should be taken out, however, before the
ground is frozen hard. INIany large growers handle the last of
the crop by "trenching." First, the rows are banked with
earth and allowed to remain there so long as there is little
danger from heavy frosts. Then the plants are lifted and eight
or ten rows are brought together and set, with the roots bedded
close together, in the bottom of a shallow trench. Sometimes
blanching boards are set along the sides of the trench and the
celery filled in between. The sides are then banked up with
earth and a covering of boards, straw or some similar material
is put on. In this latitude such a trench must be well covered
and well ventilated. Some of the large growers store celery in
a large, roofed pit, giving it extra ventilation, covering and
special care. Sometimes, for home use, celery is dug roots and
all and planted in moist earth on the cellar floor, or placed in
the cellar in boxes or barrels with the roots down and earth
around them. The plants must be kept dark and cool with
good ventilation, and the soil about the roots must be kept
moist, but wetting the tops should be avoided. When handled
in this way the plants grow slowly and the exclusion of the
light blanches them.

Onions.

Onions, when well cured, keep best, tied up in bunches by
the tops and stacked like hay, if stored in dry, well-ventilated
pits. Some growers prefer to store them in contact with the
earth. Onion storage houses must be ke'pt dry and frost-proof.

A'pyles.
Apples for storage should be well matured, but firm and
hard. They should not be allowed to lie on the ground in the
sun to ripen, as such fruit decays early. When picked they
should be cooled overnight in the field in open boxes, and kept
in a cool place thereafter. Apples keep best at a temperature a

Part II.] STORAGE OF FAR.AI PRODUCTS. 143

little above freezing point, and require considerable moisture to
prevent shriveling. Some long-keeping • varieties, such as
russets, keep well on the cellar floor. Many experiments have
been tried, such as wrapping apples in paper and packing them
in sand, sawdust or ground cork. In general, these experiments
have worked well, if the packing medium has been a little
moist. Too much moisture, however, causes the apples to
crack, if not to rot. One successful grower kept a stream of
water running through the storage room. Another was in the
habit of wetting the floor of his storage house, and even wetting
the barrels in which russets were stored, with a hose. Paper
wrappings are considered an advantage in packing several kinds
of fruit. They help to retain moisture and an even temperature,
and also prevent the spread of disease from one apple to the
other. No doubt directions regarding apples will be useful in
storing pears. Common storage of apples is treated quite fully
in Farmers' Bulletin 852, issued by the United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture at Washington.

Special Provision for Fruits and Vegetables in Cellar Storage.

All natural light should be excluded from potato storage
houses, because when the tubers are exposed to even modified
light they are soon injured for food purposes.

Immature potatoes cannot be successfully stored for any
considerable period even in the best of storage, and should
never be pitted or buried.

Where potatoes or other roots are stored in quantity i^iey
may be piled directly on the cellar floor or upon a layer of
straw. In a cellar storage closet apples, potatoes and onions
should be placed near the floor or upon it. They may be kept
in boxes or barrels, above which shelves may be fixed on which
other vegetables and fruits may be stored. If squashes must
be kept in the cellar they should be placed near the ceiling,
where they will get the highest temperature and all the ventila-
tion possible.

Storage of Canned Goods.

The novice may not know that canned goods must not be ex-
posed to direct light. Canned fruit and vegetables in glass jars
should be wrapped in paper and kept in a dark, airy place. If

144

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

[P. D. 4.

z

v

<

<0

Q^

i

2

"'/S'l/enh/a^or

Part II.] STORAGE OF FARM PRODUCTS. 145

kept in the light they deteriorate rapidly and are likely to spoil
They may be stored on shelves in the upper part of the cellar
closet, hereinbefore described. One advantage of the wooden
outside shutter for the window is that it keeps the place dark,
and so allows the storage of canned goods.

Corn Storage.

Seed corn may be kept perfectly by hanging it under a roof
or porch or under wide eaves, where it will get the air and be
protected from storms, birds and squirrels. Small quantities
are cured by stripping back the husks and hanging up the ears
in bunches.

The old-fashioned New England corn bin or corn crib is a
good model for keeping corn on the ear. It has a pitched roof,
wide, projecting eaves, and overhanging, slatted sides which
keep off rain and permit air to circulate through the building.
Usually it is mounted upon posts 2 to 3 feet high, with inverted
milk pans on top of the posts under the building to keep out
rats. This provision alone is not always successful, however,
and a sure additional method of protection against rats, mice,
English sparrows, jays, squirrels and other marauders is to line
the inside of the crib with galvanized cellar-wire netting. If this
is thoroughly done the corn is safe from anything larger than
an insect, and ordinarily there is little trouble with insects in
corn cribs in Massachusetts.

146 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

INTERPRETATION OF THE NET WEIGHT REGULATIONS
FOR MARKING PACKAGES OF HONEY/

DR. BURTON N. GATES, STATE INSPECTOR OF APIARIES, MASSACHUSETTS
STATE BOARD OP AGRICULTURE, CO-OPERATING WITH THE UNITED
STATES DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE,

With the increased sale of honey produced in Massachusetts
and sold locally, as well as the general increased use of and
trade in honey, inquiries arise as to the proper " net- weighing "
of the sections and packages. An interpretation of the regula-
tions applicable to the needs of beekeepers based on the
statements contained in Bulletin No. 6 of the Massachusetts
Department of Weights and Measures, and approved by that
department, is presented for the convenience of the beekeepers.
Further and more detailed information may be had from the
above department. State House, Boston. It should be borne in
mind, however, that honey sold in Massachusetts, locally or
otherwise, should be sold in conformity to these regulations.
Interstate trade in honey is similarly governed.

General Statement.
In general, the regulations require the plain and conspicuous
marking of the net weight (or volume) of honey on all pack-
ages, bottles or other containers to be sold locally where pro-
duced or packed for general Massachusetts or interstate trade.^
It is considered that "packages are containers [including sec-
tion boxes] of definite and approximately uniform size or
quantity of contents, which serve as units of quantity for the
purpose of invoice or sale." (Exception: Packages or con-

1 Approved by Massachusetts Department of Weights and Measures, Aug. 31, 1917.
' The regulations are under the jurisdiction of the so-called "national net-weight law" and
Massachusetts statutes, chapter 653, Acts of 1914.

Part II.] NET WEIGHT OF HONEY. 147

tainers of less than 2 ounces avoirdupois of honey.) The meas-
ure may be stated in avoirdupois pounds and ounces, United
States gallons, quarts, pints or fluid ounces; yet, since the usual
custom of the market with respect to honey is to measure this
commodity in pounds and ounces, beekeepers may well adhere
to these designations. The measure expressed on the package
must represent the actual quantity of honey contained, excki-
sive of the wrapper, section box, bottle or other container.

The statement of the weight or measure of the package con-
tents must be marked in terms of the largest unit; for example,
if the package contains a pound and a fraction, the contents
must be expressed in pounds and fractions thereof, or pounds
and ounces, as 1^ pounds, or 1.25 pounds, or 1 pound, 3 ounces.
(It should not read "19 ounces;" nor should 1 pound be ex-
pressed as "16 ounces.")

In grading comb honey and in bottling or packing extracted
honey it would be impossible or excessively costly to express
minutely with absolute accuracy a statement of the honey in
every package. The regulations, therefore, permit tolerances or
reasonable variations in packages where the discrepancies are
due exclusively to unavoidable errors in weighing, which may
occur in packing conducted in compliance with good commercial
practice. Bottles are not blown with unerring accuracy, hence
a tolerance is allowed; but a run of bottles must show as much
excess in measure as deficiency. Also tolerance will be allowed
for changes in weight due to atmospheric conditions. (The
proper tolerance will be established on the facts of each case.)
Honey is subject to slight variation in the presence or absence
of moisture, yet few cases are on record where honey properly
handled (kept in a dry place) has materially changed.

Guaranty.^ — "Guaranty should not appear on the labels or
packages," but at the option of the parties to the sale may be
furnished in writing, "attached to bill of sale, invoice, bill of
lading or other schedule."

Label. — The term label, as used in connection with the ad-
ministration and enforcement of net-weight regulations, applies
to any printed, pictorial or other matter upon or attached to

' A full statement of particulars, processes and requirements appears on pages 25 and 26.
Bulletin No. 6, Massachusetts Department of Weights and Measures.

148 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

any package of food (as honey) or any container thereof, sub-
ject to the provisions of the act. There may be one or more
labels, if desired, but the "principal label," being more promi-
nent than the others, shall contain in all cases the information
specifically required by the statutes and regulations. Honey
may be sold under a "trade" or "distinctive" name, in which
case the principal label should bear the name and place of the
beekeeper or packer. "The size of type used to declare the in-
formation required by the statutes shall be not smaller than
8-point (brevier) CAPITALS, provided that in case the size of
the package will not permit the use of 8-point type the size of
type may be reduced proportionally."

Rules and Regulations.
Excerpts important to beekeepers from the Rules and Regu-
lations made for the enforcement of the Federal law are: —

(a) Except as otherwise provided by this regulation, the quantity of
the contents, in all cases of food, if in package form, must be plainly and
conspicuously marked, in terms of weights, measure or numerical count,
on the outside of the covering or container usually delivered to con-
sumers.

(c) The statement of the quantity of the contents shall be plain and
conspicuous, shall not be a part of or obscured by any legend or design,
and shall be so placed and in such characters as to be readily seen and
clearly legible when the size of the package and the circumstances under
which it is ordinarily examined by purchasers or consumers are taken
into consideration.

(d) If the quantity of the contents be stated by weight or measure, it
shall be marked in terms of the largest unit contained in the package;
for example, if the package contain a pound, or pounds, and a fraction of
a pound the contents shall be expressed in terms of pounds and fractions
thereof; or of pounds and ounces, and not merely in ounces.^

(e) Statements of weight shall be in terms of avoirdupois pounds and
ounces; . . . provided, that, by like method, such statements may be in
terms of metric weight. . . .

(/) The quantity of solids [candied honey and perhaps comb honey]
shall be stated in terms of weight, and of liquids in terms of measure,
except that in case of an article in respect to which there exists a definite

> Id the case of an article with respect to which there eidsts a definite trade custom for marking
the quantity of the article in terms of fractional parts of larger units it may be so marked in
accordance with the custom. Common fractions shall be reduced to their lowest terms; decimal
fractions shall be preceded by zero, and shall be carried out to not more than two places.

Part 11. ] NET ^ATJGHT OF HONEY. 149

trade custom otherwise, the statement may be in terms of weight or
measure in accordance with such custom. [With extracted honey or
"bulk," or "chunk" honey, the custom is usually to speak of it in terms
of weight.] The quantity of viscous or semisolid foods, or of mixtures
of solids and liquids, may be stated either by weight or measure, but the
statement shall be definite, and shall indicate whether the quantity is
expressed in terms of weight or measure, as, for e.^ample, "Weight, 12
ounces," or "12 ounces avoirdupois;" "Volume, 12 ounces,", or "12
fluid ounces."

(h) (As amended by Food Inspection Decision No. 157.) The quan-
tity of the contents maj'' be stated in terms of minimum weight, minimum
measure or mmimum count; for example: " Minimum weight, 10 ounces,"
"Minimum volume, 1 gallon," or "Not less than 4 ounces." But in
such case the statement must approximate the actual quantity, and
there shall be no tolerance below the stated minimum.

(i) The following tolerances and variations from the quantity of the
contents marked on the package shall be allowed: —

(1) Discrepancies due exclusively to errors in weighing, measuring or counting
which occur in packing conducted in compliance with good commercial practice.

(2) Discrepancies due exclusively to differences in the capacity of bottles and
similar containers resulting solely from unavoidable difficulties in manufacturing
such bottles or containers so as to be of um'form capacity: provided, that no greater
tolerance shall be allowed in case of bottles or similar containers, which because
of their design cannot be made of approximate uniform capacity, than is allowed
in case of bottles or similar containers which can be manufactured so as to be of
approximate uniform capacity.

(3) Discrepancies in weight or measure, due exclusively to differences in at-
mospheric conditions in various places, and which unavoidably result from the
ordinary and customary exposure of the packages to evaporation or to the absorp-
tion of water.

Discrepancies under classes (1) and (2) of this paragraph shall be as often above
as below the marked quantity. The reasonableness of discrepancies under class
(3) of this paragraph will be determined on the facts in each case.

(j) A package containing 2 avoirdupois ounces of food, or less, is
"small," and shall be exempt from marking in terms of weight.

An Opinion (No. 46) regarding the Net Weight of
Comb Honey.

Dear Sir: — The net weight of comb honey is considered to be the
weight of the honey and comb exclusive of the wooden section. It is
believed that the tare weight of these sections is easily ascertained, and
that the filled sections can be readily sorted into approximately similar
weights which may be marked in accordance with paragraph (h) of Food
Inspection Decision No. 154.

The individual units must be marked, and the shipping case may be if
desired. The marking should be done previous to their introduction into
interstate commerce.

150 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

While the regulations do not prescribe the manner of marking, as to
whether a rubber stamp may be used, the law requires that the statement
shall be plain and conspicuous. Stamping by means of aniline ink is
frequently illegible, owing to failure to print or to the running of the ink.
If such a stamp is used, care should be taken to make the statement plain
and conspicuous, as required by the act.

Respectfully,

A. S. Mitchell,
Secretary, Committee on Regulations, Net Weight and Volume Law.

m

General Suggestions.

Comh Honey.
The appearance of a honey package has much to do with
its ready sale; good appearance helps to retain customers.
Section boxes should be thoroughly cleaned. In marking them
with the net weight, this should be done so as not to mar their
neatness. Careful grading of the sections improves the selling
qualities of honey in case lots. Section honey should be car-
toned for retail trade. It handles better, is cleaner, and it
usually improves its attractiveness in the eye of the buyer. At
all times consider cleanliness in handling and marketing. Sec-
tion honey should not be exposed to the dust and flies.

Extracted Honey.

Equal care should be taken with honey in extracted form.
Selling points to consider are: the color, flavor and body of the
honey; its clarity, that is, its freedom from bits of comb and
foreign particles; and the general neatness and attractiveness
of the package. The label is important and should possess
selling value.

Most Massachusetts beekeepers recommend containers which
hold customary units of measure, as 1 pound or its multiple
rather than 9, II or even 15 ounces or their multiples. An
eight-ounce or half-pound package is quite generally used,
however. Suitable sizes of containers for general honey trade
are suggested, as follows: glass, 8 ounce, 1 pound, 2 pounds;
tin, 2, 3 and 5 pounds, half gallon (about 6 pounds), 1 gallon
(about 12 pounds), and 5 gallons (the wholesale unit, which
container will hold 60 pounds).

Part II.] NET ^^^EIGHT OF HOXEY. 151

Paper Containers.
Paper containers are coming on to the market as a less ex-
pensive package, but as yet are not satisfactory. There are
several types. In order to seal these tightly, a machine is
usually necessary.

Procuring Containers.

Containers are available through the bee supply houses,
glass and tin manufacturers and jobbers. In selecting glass
jars, straight-sided, wide-mouthed containers without a shoulder
are found preferable. One of the several forms of screw caps
will be found desirable. Two types of liners for the caps are
found satisfactory, — wax or paraffin board, or felt and paraffin
paper liners.

Glass manufacturers frequently speak of the capacities of
their jars in terms of fluid ounces, knowing little or nothing of
their capacity for a given weight of honey. Hence, the follow-
ing may be of assistance in selecting containers: —

"Extracted honey when ready for market should run about
12 pounds to the gallon at normal temperature [60° to 70°
Fahr.j " ^ Thus commercially a gallon of honey is considered to
weigh 12 pounds avoirdupois.^ For a 1-pound container, an
11 or 12 fluid ounce capacity should be secured. The latter is
usually a stock size. Many pint containers are found to hold
approximately 1^ pounds of honey. Many quart containers are
found to hold approximately 3 pounds of honey. A 22 or 23
fluid ounce container is considered suitable to hold 2 pounds of
honey. It should be remembered, however, that in blowing
glass containers there is a slight variation in their cubic
capacity.

> Root, A. I., and E. R., 1917, "ABC and X Y Z of Bee Culture," p. 671.

' If, however, honey is heated to 130° or 140° Fahr. to prevent granulation the density changes,
and, according to Root, 1 gallon will weigh "about 11 pounds and 10 ounces." On this basis the
average gallon can will not hold 12 pounds of honey at the temperature to which it has been raised
in order to prevent granulation. At normal temperature a honey weighing llj^ pounds to the
gallon has a high water content, which is indicative of improper or incomplete ripening, and
will be subject to fermentation.

Agricultural Legislation,
1917.

AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION, 1917.

PART I. — LEGISLATION CONFERRING POWERS AND
DUTIES ON THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

EXPENSES OF STATE BOARD.

General Acts, Chapter 286.
An Act relative to the expenses of the state board of agriculture.

Be it enacted, etc., as follows:

Section L Section four of chapter eighty-nine of the Revised Laws,
as amended by chapter one hundred and eighty-six of the acts of the year
nineteen hundred and eleven, and by chapter two hundred and fifty of the
General Acts of the year nineteen hundred and fifteen, and by section two
of chapter forty-six of the General Acts of the year nineteen hundred and
sixteen, is hereby further amended by striking out the words "a sum not
exceeding five thousand dollars", in the sixth and seventh lines, and in-
serting in place thereof the words : — such amount as the general court
may appropriate, — so as to read as follows: — Section 4- The board
may appoint, and prescribe the duties of, a secretary, who shall receive
an annual salary of three thousand dollars, and who, with the approval of
the board, may employ a first clerk at an annual salary of eighteen hun-
dred dollars, and may annually expend for other clerical service such
amount as the general court may appropriate. The secretary may arrange
for lectures before the board, and may issue for general distribution such
publications as he considers best adapted to promote the interests of agri-
culture; but the expense of such lectures and publications, unless otherwise
provided for, shall be paid out of the appropriation for the dissemination
of useful information in agriculture l)y the l)oard.

Section 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Approved
Maxj 24, 1917.

WHITE PINE BLISTER RUST.

Gexeral Acts, Chapter 263.
An Act to provide for investigation and suppression of the white

PINE blister rust.

Be it enacted, etc., asjollmcs:

Section 1. The state nursery inspector, acting under the direction of
the state board of agriculture, is herel)y authorized to expend a sum not
exceeding fifty thousand dollars for the investigation and suppression of

loG BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

the wliite pine blister rust, and any vmexpended balance of this sum
remaining at the end of the fiscal j^ar nineteen hundred and seventeen
may be expended in the fiscal year nineteen hundred and eighteen.

Section 2. Chapter five hundred and seven of the acts of the year
nineteen hundred and twelve, as amended by section two of chapter one
hundred and sixty-one of the General Acts of the year nineteen hundred
and fifteen and by section five of chapter ninety-one of the General Acts
of the j^ear nineteen hundred and sixteen, is hereby further amended by
adding at the end thereof the following new sections to be numbered nine-
teen and twenty: — Section 19. In case the nursery inspector, either
personally or through his deputies, shall find plants known as ribes or five-
leaved pines infected with the disease known as the white pine blister rust,
or shall find ribes or pines so situated that in liis opinion they are likely
to become infected with this disease, he may, either personally or through
his deputies, forthwith destroy or cause to be destroyed such ribes or five-
leaved pines. Section 20. In carrying out his duties hereunder relative
to the control of the white pine blister rust, the state nursery inspector
shall, so far as practicable, co-operate ■with the state forester and with the
local tree wardens, moth superintendents, city foresters and forest wardens.

Section 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Approved
May 17, 1917.

BOUNTIES TO AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES.

General Acts, Chapter 226.
An Act relative to the granting of bounties to agricultural

societies.
Be it enacted, etc., as follows:

Chapter two hundred and sixty of the acts of the year nineteen hundred
and twelve, as amended by section one of chapter two hundred and forty
of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and thirteen, and by section one
of chapter two hundred and nine of the acts of the year nineteen hundred
and fourteen, and as affected by chapter two hundred and seventy-six of
the acts of the year nineteen hundred and fourteen, is hereby further
amended by striking out the words "for the follomng purposes: — Two
hundred dollars", in the eighth and ninth lines, by inserting after the
word "in", in the tenth line, the words: — general premiums, and in, — by
striking out the words "and two hundred dollars in general premiums",
in the thirteenth and fourteenth lines, and by striking out all after the
word "section", in the eighteenth line, and inserting in place thereof the
words : — nor in any case more than eight hundred dollars for general
premiums, — so as to read as follows : — Every incorporated agricultural
society which is entitled to receive a bounty under section one of chapter
one hundred and twenty-four of the Re\nsed Laws, as amended by chapter
one hundred and thirty-three of the acts of the year nineteen hundred
and nine, shall be entitled to receive annually in August from the com-

Part II.] AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION. 157

monwealth, in addition to the sum which it is entitled to receive under the
said section, four hundred dollars to l^e distributed in general premiums,
and in premiums to children and youths under eighteen years of age for the
encouragement of horticulture, agriculture and domestic manufactures,
subject to the discretion of each society drawing bounty; but no society
shall receive a larger sum in addition to the bounty to which it is entitled
under the said section than it shall have expended in the year last preceding
in premiums, in excess of the sum to which it is entitled under the said
section; nor in any case more than eight hundred dollars for general pre-
miums. [Approved May 4, 1917.

BOUNTY TO POULTRY ASSOCIATIONS.

General Acts, Chapter 85.

An Act RELAxrvE to the payment of bounty to poultry associa-
tions.
Be it enacted, etc., as foUoics:

Section 1. Every poultry association which shall have been incor-
porated under the laws of the commonwealth for the purposes, principallj^
of holding exhibitions of poultry within the commonwealth shall be en-
titled to receive annually in May from the treasury of the commonwealth
not exceeding two hundred dollars : irrovided, however, that not more than
twenty such associations shall be entitled to receive bounty in any one
year; and provided, further, that no association shall receive a larger amount
in one year than it has awarded and paid in state first premiums in that
year on the kinds, breeds and varieties of poultry specified by the state
board of agriculture as provided in section four.

Section 2. Every incorporated poultry association which desires to
receive the bounty aforesaid, shall annually, on or before the first day of
November in each year, file in the office of the secretary of the board of
agriculture, a certificate signed by its secretary, stating the amount which
it has offered or proposes to offer in "state first premiums" at its next
show.

Section 3. No association shall Ix; entitled to any part of the said
Ixjunty unless it shall certify to the state board of agriculture, under oath
of the president and treasurer of the association, that it has held an ex-
hibition of poultry during the year, and shall also certify the amount paid
in premiums by the association at such exhibition, and that the association
is in need of aid to enable it to continue its exhibitions of poultry, together
wdth such other facts as the ])oard may request.

Section 4. The state board of agriculture shall determine annually
the associations entitled to receive bounty, the kinds, breeds and varieties
of poultry to which state premiums as aforesaid may be awarded, and the
date on or before which associations shall file their certificates, and may
make such other rules and regulations as it may deem suitable for carrying
out the provisions of this act.

158 BOARD OF AGRICIXTURE. [P. D. 4.

Section 5. For the purposes of this act the term "state first premi-
ums" shall mean all first premiums described in the premium lists of said
associations as being offered by the state board of agriculture through the
association.

Section 6. Chapter four hundred and twenty-eight of the acts of the
3'ear nineteen hundred and nine, as amended by chapter five hundred and
ninety of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and thirteen and by chapter
two hundred and ninety-eight of the acts of the year nineteen hundred
and fourteen, is hereby repealed.

Section 7. This act shall take effect on the first day of Septeml^er in
the year nineteen hundred and seventeen. [Approved March 17, 1917.

Note. — The two preceding acts will be automatically repealed on October 1,
1918, when the Anti-Aid Amendment goes into effect.

DRAINAGE SURVEYS.

General Acts, Chapter 212.

An Act to authorize the state board of agriculture and the state
department of health to make drainage surveys.

Be it enacted, etc., as follows:

Section 1. The state board of agriculture and the state department
of health, acting jointlj^ are hereby authorized to investigate the question
of utilizing the wet lands in the commonwealth, including meadows,
swamps, marshes, beaches and other low lands, and to ascertain what
lands, if any, in the commonwealth may advantageously be drained for
agricultural and industrial uses, the protection of the public health, the
utilization of deposits therein, or for other purposes. Said boards may
publish and disseminate facts of general interest ascertained in the conduct
of the investigation hereby authorized, and may make and publish surveys
of tracts of land in need of drainage, showing their situation, area and out-
lets, the best methods and the cost of draining them, the uses to which
they are best adapted, and such other details as may be deemed ad\asable.
The said boards shall report annually to the legislature their doings here-
under in the preceding year.

Section 2. In carrying out the provisions of this act the said boards
shall seek the co-operation and assistance of the United States depart-
ment of agriculture, and may employ such engineers, assistants, or other
agents as may be necessary, who shall have ingress, egi-ess and regress
to land which said boards may desire to survey or examine and may ex-
pend from the treasury of the commonwealth for the purposes of this act
a sum not exceeding two thousand dollars.

Section 3. Chapter seven hundred and fifty-nine of the acts of the
year nineteen hundred and thirteen and chapter five hundred and ninety-
six of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and fourteen are hereby re-
pealed.

Part II.] AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATIOX. 159

Section 4. The said boards shall report to the next general court
what additions and amendments, if any, should, in its opinion, be made
to chapter one hundred and ninety-five of the Revised Laws.

Section 5. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Approved
May 2, 1917.

APPLE GRADING LAW.

General Acts, Chapter 13.

An Act relative to the packing, grading and sale of apples.
Be it enacted, etc., as follows:

Section 1. Section five of chapter two hundred and sixty-one of the
General Acts of the year nineteen hundred and fifteen is hereby amended
by striking out the words "of the packer or", in the sixth line, by striking
out the words "name and address of the repacker, or the", in the eighteenth
line, and by striking out the words "original packer", in the last line, and
inserting in place thereof the words : — person by whose authority they
were originally packed, — so as to read as follows: — Section 5. Every
closed package of apples packed or repacked in the commonwealth and
intended for sale, either within or without the commonwealth, shall have
marked in a conspicuous place on the outside of the package in plain letters
a statement of the quantity of the contents, the name and address of the
person by whose authority the apples were packed, the true name of the va-
riety and the grade and the minimum size of the apples contained therein,
in accordance with the provisions of sections two, three and four of this
act, and the name of the state in which they were grown. If the true name
of the variety is not known to the packer or other person by whose au-
thority the apples are packed, the statement shall include the words
"variety unknown", and if the name of the state in which the apples were
grown is not known, this fact shall also be set forth in the statement. If
apples are repacked, the package shall l)e marked "repacked", and shall
bear the name and address of the person by whose authoritj' it is repacked,
in place of that of the person by whose authority they were originally
packed.

Section 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Approved
February 20, 1917.

STATE ORNITHOLOGIST.

General Acts, Chapter 75.

An Act relatia^e to the powers of the state ornithologist.
Be it enacted, etc., as follows:

Section 1. Section three of chapter two hundred and forty-five of the
acts of the year nineteen hundred and eight, as amended by section one
of chapter five hundred of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and twelve,

160 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

and by section one of chapter four hundred and twenty-four of the acts
of the year nineteen hundred and fourteen, is hereby further amended by
striking out the word "twenty-five", in the ninth hne, and inserting in
place thereof the word : — thirty-five, — and by adding at the end of said
section the words: — For the purpose of aiding in the study of the distribu-
tion and habits of the birds of the commonwealth the state ornithologist
may appoint from time to time special observers who shall serve without
compensation, — so as to read as follows: — Section 3. The state orni-
thologist shall receive two thousand dollars annuallj^ for his services, and
such allowance for necessary expenses, travelling or otherwise, as may be
approved by the said board. He may purchase such supplies and apparatus
and may employ such assistance as may be reasonably necessary in carry-
ing out his duties, subject to the approval of the said board; but the total
amount to be expended under authority of this act shall not exceed thirty-
five hundred dollars annually, including the salary of the ornithologist.
For the purpose of aiding in the study of the distribution and habits of the
birds of the commonwealth the state ornithologist maj^ appoint from time
to time special observers who shall serve without compensation.

Section 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Approved
March 15, 1917.

ARBOR AND BIRD DAY ESTABLISHED.

General Acts, Chapter 74.
An Act to establish arbor and bird day.
Be it enacted, etc., as follows:

Section 1. Chapter fifty-three of the Revised Laws is hereby amended
by striking out section sixteen and inserting in place thereof the follow-
ing:— Section 16. The governor shall annually issue a proclamation
setting apart the last Saturday in April as Arbor and Bird Day, recom-
mending its observance by the public in the planting of trees, shrubs and
vines, particularly those attractive to birds, in the promoting of forest
grounds, places and ways, and in such other efforts and undertakings as
will harmonize with the general character of the day. He shall further
recommend that the Friday preceding be observed in the rural and sub-
urban schools of the commonwealth by exercises appropriate to Arbor and
Bird Day.

Section 2. The state board of agriculture may publish annually a
leaflet relative to trees and birds which shall be approved by the com-
missioner of education, and may distribute the same to the superintendents
and teachers of the rural and suburban public schools of the commonwealth
prior to Arbor and Bird Day. The expenses of such publication and dis-
tribution shall be paid out of the annual appropriation for disseminating
useful information in agriculture.

Section 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Approved
March 15, 1917.

Part II.l AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION. 161

PART II — LEGISLATION ON AGRICULTUR.\L EDUCATION.
AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTION IN TOWNS.

General Acts, Chapter 61.
Ax Act relathe to the reimbursement of cities and towns main-
taining AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS OR FURNISHING AGRICULTURAL IN-
STRUCTION.

Be it enacted, etc., as joUoxcs:

Section 1. Clause two of section nine of chapter four hundred and
seventy-one of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and eleven is hereby
amended by striking out all after the word "departments ", in the sixth line,
so that the paragraph will read as follows : — 2. Cities and towns maintain-
ing approved local or district independent agricultural schools consisting
onlj^ of agricultural departments in high schools shall be reimbursed by
the commonwealth, as provided in this act, only to the extent of two thirds
of the salary paid to the instructors in such agricultural departments.

Section 2. The treasurer of the commonwealth is hereby authorized
to pay to certain cities and towns maintaining such agricultural schools
in the year nineteen hundred and sixteen the amounts by way of reim-
bursement certified as due to them by the board of education, in excess
of the ten thousand dollars heretofore authorized by law, aggregating four
hundred seven dollars and seventy cents. [Approved March 12, 1917.

ESSEX COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL.

General Acts, Chapter 176.
An Act relative to the independent agricultural school in the

county of ESSEX.

Be it enacted, etc., asfolloivs:

Section 1. The name of the independent agricultural school of the
county of Essex is hereby changed to Essex County Agricultural School.

Section 2. The said school may provide short-unit courses of instruc-
tion both at the school and elsewhere in the county. Members of the
school staff shall investigate farm and market affairs for the purpose of
advising individuals and organizations with reference to better business
methods available to farmers and more satisfactory methods of marketing
farm products, shall give instruction in the formation of co-operative
enterprises, and shall perform any other work calculated to promote the
agricultural or rural development of the county. It shall bo the duty of
members of the staff to keep in touch with, and to bring to the assistance
of such individuals and organizations, all agencies in the commonwealth
or elsewhere that will ena]')le them to utilize the latest and b(>st knowledge
in the furtherance of their work.

Section 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Approred
April 16, 1917.

102 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

BRISTOL COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL.

General Acts, Chapter 247.

An Act relath'e to the independent agricultural school of

bristol county.
Be it enacted, etc., as folloivs:

Section 1 . The name of the independent agricultural school of Bristol
county shall be Bristol County Agricultural School.

Section 2. The said school shall provide instruction in agriculture
and, at such time as may be approved by the board of education, may
provide instruction in household arts or home-making. Short-unit courses
of instruction may be given both at the school and elsewhere in the county.
Members of the school staff shall investigate farm and market conditions
for the purpose of advising indi\'iduals and organizations with reference
to better business methods among farmers, and more satisfactory methods
of marketing farm products, shall give instruction in the formation of
co-operative enterprises, and shall perform any other work calculated to
promote the agricultural or rural development of the count}'. It shall
be the duty of members of the staff to keep in touch with, and to avail
themselves of, all agencies in the commonwealth or elsewhere that will
enable them to utilize the latest and best knowledge and practice in the
furtherance of their work.

Section 3. The said school may receive and utilize gifts considered
by said trustees and the board of education to be consistent with its pur-
poses, but principally it shall be supported as follows : — The treasurer
of the county shall pay all bills which are approved by the trustees, not
exceeding in the aggregate twenty thousand dollars, in addition to the
miscellaneous income described in section four of this act, for the establish-
ment, equipment and maintenance of said school during the fiscal year
nineteen hundred and seventeen, and the amount so paid shall be raised
by taxation in the same manner in which the other expenses of the county
are provided for. Said trustees shall annually, after the first year, in con-
sultation with and with the approval of the board of education and the
county commissioners of the county prepare on or before the fifteenth
day of December, an estimate of the amount required to establish, equip,
and maintain the said school for the ensuing year; and the said amount
shall be included by the county commissioners of the county in the esti-
mate required by section twenty-seven of chapter twenty-one of the Re-
vised Laws, as amended, and if the amount so estimated, or any part
thereof, shall be authorized by the general court as part of the county tax,
the county of Bristol shall raise by taxation the sum so authorized, and
the treasurer of the county shall pay all bills, if approved by the trustees,
not exceeding the amount authorized, in the same manner as the bills of
other departments of the county are paid.

Section 4. Li order to reduce the net cost to the county and state of

Part II.] AGRICIXTURAL LEGISLATION. 163

the said school, all miscellaneous income, including receipt.s for tuition
collected on account of non-resident pupils, receipts from the sale of prod-
ucts, from the work of pupils, or from any other source, shall be paid to
the county treasurer to be applied toward the expense of maintenance.

Section 5. Said school, to the extent of the capacity of the various
courses provided for in accordance with section two of this act, shall be
free for attendance to residents of said county over fourteen and under
twenty-five years of age; and, to residents of the commonwealth over
seventeen years of age in such numbers and for such instruction as shall
be approved by the board of education. Any resident, over fourteen years
of age, of a city or town in Massachusetts outside of said county which
does not maintain a state-aided vocational school offering the type of
education desired, may be admitted to the Bristol County Agricultural
School in accordance with the provisions governing the admission of non-
resident pupils and the collection of tuition fees contained in chapter four
hundred and seventy-one of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and
eleven.

Section 6. This act shall take effect upon its passage; and such parts
of previous acts relating to the independent agricultural school of Bristol
county as are not consistent with this act are hereby repealed. [Approved
May 14, 1917,

EXPERIMENTAL WORK IN TOBACCO GROWING.

Resolves, Chapter 25.
Resolve providing for experimental work by the Massachusetts
agricultural college in the planting and growing of tobacco.

Resolved, That the trustees of the Massachusetts Agricultural College
be authorized and directed to expend out of the appropriation for the
maintenance and current expenses of the college, from the allotment for
the experiment station, a sum not exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars
for the rental of real estate and of the necessary equipment, and for the
employment of labor in experimental work concerning the planting and
growing of tobacco. [Approved March 12, 1917.

PART in. — LEGISLATION RELATING TO MILK AND LIVE

STOCK.

GRADING OF MILK.

General Acts, Chapter 256.

An Act relative to the classification and grading of milk.

Be it enacted, etc., as folloivs:

Section 1. A grade of milk to be known as "Grade A, Massachusetts
Milk", is hereby established.

The said grade shall consist exclusively of milk i)r(){Uurd within this

164 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

commonwealth from healthy cows under cleanly and sanitary conditions,
and shall be so cooled and cared for that in its raw state the bacteria count
shall not average more than one hundred thousand per cubic centimeter,
upon examination of five samples taken consecutively, each from a different
lot of milk, on five separate days.

Section 2. "Grade A, Massachusetts Milk" shall, when sold, kept
or offered for sale or exchange, be designated and marked with a label,
cap or tag, in plain legible, bold-faced type, in the words follo^wing: "Grade
A, Massachusetts Milk". The percentage of milk fat may also be stated
upon said label, cap or tag, but in no case shall the amount of fat be less
than the Massachusetts legal standard.

Section 3. The board of health of any city or town, upon application
of any person, firm, association or corporation, desiring to sell or exchange
milk therein as "Grade A, Massachusetts Milk", shall cause the milk
produced or to be sold or exchanged by such applicant to be tested for
classification as prescribed by section two of this act, and if upon such
examination and test the milk so produced or to be sold or exchanged by
the applicant is found to comply with the aforesaid requirements of classi-
fication of "Grade A, Massachusetts Milk", the board of health shall
issue without charge to the applicant a written permit to keep for sale,
exchange or delivery, or to sell, exchange or deliver in such city or town,
milk graded, classified, designated and labelled, as hereinbefore provided,
as "Grade A, Massachusetts Milk".

Any permit so issued may, at any time, be revoked upon written notice
to the holder thereof, by the board of health issuing the same, if milk
offered by the holder for sale or exchange as so graded or classified shall
not comply with the aforesaid requirements.

Section 4. If any grade or classification of milk other than "Grade
A, Massachusetts Milk" is established permits for the sale of such milk
shall be granted and may be revoked in accordance with the provisions of
this act in respect to "Grade A, Massachusetts Milk", but such permits
shall not be granted until the milk to be sold thereunder has been tested
in such manner as the board of health, to whom application for the permit
is made, shall determine. Milk sold or kept or offered for sale or exchange
under such a permit shall be marked with a label, cap or tag in plain,
legible, bold-faced type, expressing the name of the grade as it is deter-
mined by the board granting the permit.

Section 5. Whoever, himself or by his agent, or as the servant or
agent of another, sells, exposes for sale or has in his custody or possession
with intent to sell milk purporting to be of a grade established hereunder
without having a permit so to do shall be subject to the penalty herein-
after provided.

Section 6. Whoever, himself or by his agent, or as the servant or
agent of another, sells, exposes for sale, or has in his custody or possession
with intent to sell, milk labelled as to its fat content which upon analyses
of three samples taken consecutively, each from a different lot of milk, on

Part II.] AGRICLTTURAL LEGISLATION. 165

three separate days, is found to contain less milk fat than that stated upon
the latel, cap or tag, and whoever sells, exposes for sale or exchange, or
delivers, milk not wholly produced in Massachusetts in containers bearing
upon a label, cap, tag, or otherwise, the words "Grade A, Massachusetts
Milk", or other words indicating that such milk was produced in Massa-
chusetts; and whoever in any manner represents that milk not wholly
produced in Massachusetts was wholl}'' produced in Massachusetts, or is
of a grade designated as "Grade A, Massachusetts Milk", shall, for a
first offence, be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars; for a
second offence by a fine of not less than fiftj^ nor more than one hundred
dollars, and for a subsequent offence by a fine of not less than one hvmdred
nor more than two hundred dollars. [Approved May 14, 1917.

PASTEURIZED MILK.

General Acts, Chapter 259.
An Act defining pasteurized milk and regulating the sale

THEREOF.

Be it enacted, etc., as follows:

Section 1. Pasteurized milk is hereby defined to be natural cow's
milk not more than seventy-two hours old when pasteurized, subjected
for a period of not less than thirty minutes, to a temperature of not less
than one hundred and forty degrees nor more than one hundred and forty-
five degrees Fahrenheit, and immediately thereafter cooled therefrom to
a temperature of fifty degrees Fahrenheit or lower.

Section 2. It shall be unlawful to sell, exchange or deliver, or to ad-
vertise, represent, or describe, or to offer or expose for sale or to have in
possession with intent to sell, as pasteurized milk, milk not pasteurized in
conformity with the provisions of this act.

Section 3. Any violation of this act shall be punished by a fine of not
less than ten dollars for a first offence, and of not more than one hundred
dollars for any subsequent offence.

Section 4. This act shall take effect on the first day of January in the
year nineteen hundred and eighteen. [Approved May 16, 1917.

MILK STANDARD.

General Acts, Chapter 189.
An Act to harmonize the standards for total milk solids and

MILK FAT.

Be it enacted, etc., as folloics:

Section fifty-six of chapter fifty-six of tiie Revised Laws, as amended
by chapter six hundred and forty-three of the acts of the year nineteen
hundred and eight, is hereby further amended by striking out the words
"and fifteen hundredths", in the fourth line, so as to read as follows: —
Section 56. In prosecutions under the provisioiis of sections fifty-one to

166 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

sixty-four, inclusive, milk which, upon analysis, is shown to contain less
than twelve per cent of milk solids or less than three and thirty-five hun-
dredths per cent of fat, shall not be considered of good standard quality.
[Approved April 16, 1917.

FEES FOR INSPECTIONS PROHIBITED.

General Acts, Chapter 112.
An Act to prohibit the charging of fees for dairy, milk and live

STOCK inspection.

Be it enacted, etc., as follows:

Section 1. No fee for making, under authority of law, any inspection
or test of live stock, or any inspection of any dairy, barn or stable, for the
purp>ose of protecting the milk supply of any city or town, shall be re-
quested or accepted by any offi,cial or other person making or assisting to
make' such test or inspection.

Section 2. Violation of this act shall be punished by a fine not exceed-
ing fifty dollars for each offence. [Approved March 22, 1917.

FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE.

General Acts, Chapter 121.

An Act to provide for the extermination of the foot and mouth
disease among domestic animals.

Be it enacted, etc., as follows. •

Section 1. All neat cattle and other domestic animals, which are
affected with, or have been exposed to, foot and mouth disease, shall be
destroyed when, in the opinion of the commissioner of animal industry,
the public good so requires, and their carcasses shall be buried or otherwise
disposed of. An order for killing and for the disposal of carcasses shall
be issued in writing by said commissioner, and may be directed to an agent,
an inspector of animals, or other person. The said commissioner shall
also issue such directions for the cleansing and disinfection of buildings,
premises and places in which foot and mouth disease exists or has existed,
and of property which may be on or contained therein, as in his opinion
may be necessary or expedient. Any property on such premises which
may be, in the opinion of the commissioner of animal industry or of his
agents, a source of contagion may be destroyed by order of the commis-
sioner. The necessary expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions
of this section may be paid from the annual appropriation for the extermi-
nation of contagious diseases among domestic animals.

Section 2. The commissioner of animal industry may appoint persons
to make appraisals on live stock and other property the destruction of
which is ordered under the provisions of section one hereof, and fifty per
cent of the full value of such live stock and other property, as determined

Part II.] AGRICULTUIUL LEGISLATION. 167

by the appraisal, may be paid from the annual appropriation for the ex-
termination of contagious diseases among domestic animals, subject, both
as regards live stock and other property, to the rights of arbitration and
petition provided for by section twenty-six of chapter ninety of the Re-
vised Laws relative to the destruction of animals affected with tuberculosis,
so far as the same may be applicable. In case the United States govern-
ment makes an appropriation for pajinent of a certain portion of the value
of any animals and property destroyed in accordance with this act, the
payment by the commonwealth for such animals or property shall be
limited to the difference between such portion and the full value thereof
determined as herein provided.

Section 3- This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Approved
March 29, 1917.

ENFORCEMENT OF DOG LAWS.

General Acts, Chapter 271.
An Act authorizing and directing the commissioners on fisheries

AND game and their DEPUTIES TO ENFORCE THE LAWS RELATING TO
DOGS.

Be it enacted, etc., as follows:

Section 1. Section one of chapter four hundred and seventeen of the
acts of the year nineteen hundred and eight is hereby amended by striking
out the word "salaried", in the second and sixth lines, by striking out the
word "and", in the fourth line, and by inserting after the word "mam-
mals", in the same line, the words: — and dogs, — so as to read as fol-
lows : — Section 1 . The commissioners on fisheries and game and their
deputies shall have and exercise throughout the commonwealth for the en-
forcement of the laws relating to fish, birds, mammals and dogs, all the
powers of constables, except the service of civil process, and of policemen
and watchmen. The said deputies when on duty shall wear, and shall
display as a token of authority, a metallic badge bearing the seal of the
commonwealth and the words "Deputy Fish and Game Commissioner."

Section 2. Every license granted for the keeping of dogs under the
l)rovisions of chapter one hundred and two of the Revised Laws, and
amendments thereof, shall be subject to the condition that the dog which
is the subject of the license shall be controlled and restrained from killing,
chasing or harassing sheep, lambs, fowls or other domestic animals, and
said condition shall be expressed in the license. [Approved May 21, 1917.

168 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

DOG LAW COMMISSION.

Resolve, Chapter 102.
Resolve providing for a commission to in^'estigate the advisability

OF amending ANT) SUPPLEMENTING THE LAW RELATING TO DOGS.

Resolved, That a commission, which shall be composed of the secretary
of the state board of agriculture, the chairman of the board of commis-
sioners on fisheries and game and an assistant attorney-general, to be
designated by the attorney-general, and a fourth person, familiar with the
operation of the dog-laws in cities who shall serve -^dthout compensation,
and shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the
council, is hereby constituted for the purpose of inquiring into the ad-
visability of amending or supplementing the laws relating to dogs.
Especially shall it consider the advisability of enacting further legislation
for the protection from dogs of domestic animals, especially sheep, and
also game. The commission shall report to the general court, after holding
such public hearings as it may deem necessarj^, not later than the second
"Wednesday in January, nineteen hundred and eighteen, with drafts of such
legislation, if any, as it may deem expedient. [Ap2)roved May 16, 1917.

COMMERCIAL FEEDING STUFFS.

General Acts, Chapter 47.
An Act relative to the sale and analysis of food stuffs for live

STOCK and poultry.

Be it enacted, etc., as folloivs:

Section 1. Section five of chapter five hundred and twenty-seven of
the acts of the year nineteen hundred and twelve is hereby amended by
striking out the word "September", in the fourth and eighth lines, and
inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the word : — • Januaiy, — so
as to read as follows : — Section 5. A certified copy of the tag or label
requii-ed by this act shall be filed with the director of the Massachusetts
agricultural experiment station, or his authorized deputy, for registration
prior to the first day of January in each j^ear for every brand of commercial
feeding stuff to be sold or offered, exposed or kept for sale or to be dis-
tributed in this commonwealth during the year beginning with said first
day of January. The said director or his authorized deputy may there-
after permit a manufacturer, importer or other person to file a copj^ of the
tag or label of a brand of feeding stuff, and may register the same for said
year in accordance with the rules and regulations which may be prescribed
by the said director.

Section 2. Section six of said chapter five hundred and twenty-seven
is hereby amended by striking out the word "August ", in the eleventh line,
and inserting in place thereof the word : — December, — so as to read as

Part II.] AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION. 169

follows: — -Section 6. When the certified copy of the tag or label of any
brand of commercial feeding stuff has been filed as provided by this act,
the director of the JMassachusetts agricultural experiment station, or his
authorized deputy, shall register such tag or label if he finds the same to
be in accordance with the requirements of this act, and shall issue, or cause
to be issued, a certificate of such registration, and the said certificate shall
he deemed to authorize the sale in this commonwealth, in compliance with
this act, of the brand of feeding stuff for which the certificate is issued, up
to and including the thirty-first day of December of the year for which it
is issued.

Section 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [A-piproved
March S, 1917.

PART IV. — MISCELLANEOUS ACTS RELATING TO AGRI-
CULTURE.

PUBLIC DEFENSE ACT — FOOD ADMINISTRATION.

General Acts, Chapter 342.

Section 23. WTienever the governor, with the advice and consent of
the council, shall determine that an emergency has arisen in regard to the
cost, supply, production, or distribution of food or other necessaries of life
in this commonwealth, he may ascertain the amount of food, or other
necessaries of life within the commonwealth; the amount of land and
labor available for the production of food ; the means of producing within
or of obtaining without the commonwealth food or other necessaries of
life as the situation demands; and the facilities for the distribution of the
same, and may publish any data obtained relating to the cost or supply of
such food or other necessaries, and the means of producing or of obtaining
or distributing the same. In making the said investigation he may compel
the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents, and may
examine the books and papers of individuals, firms, associations and cor-
porations producing or dealing in food or other necessaries of life, and he
may compel the co-operation of all offi.ccrs, boards, commissions and de-
partments of the commonwealth having information that may assist him
in making the said investigation.

MUNICIPALITIES AUTHORIZED TO WORK LAND.

General Acts, Chapter 264.

An Act to authorize cities and towns to make certain emergency
appropriations in time of war.

Be it enacted, etc., as follows:

Section 1. Cities and towns are hereby authorized, during the con-
tinuance of the existing state of war between the United States and any
foreign country, to appropriate such sums of money as they may deem

170 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

necessary to conserve health and to protect persons and property; to
establish, maintain, and equip training fields; to purchase military equip-
ment and supplies; and for the purpose of conserving the food supplj^ to
do such things as they may deem necessary to assist in the raising and
distribution of food products. The expenditure of all money appropriated
under authority of this act shall, in cities, be under the direction of the
mayor and city countU or commission, and in towais, of the selectmen, or
of committees appointed by the mayor with the approval of the council
or commission, in cities, and by the selectmen in towns. A report in detail
of all such expenditures shall be made and included in the annual report
of the proper financial officers of the city or town.

Section 2. For the purpose of meeting expenditures herein authorized,
a city or town may raise such sums as may be necessary by taxation or
may incur debt and issue bonds or notes therefor for a period not exceeding
five years. All debts incurred under authority of this act shall be payable
in accordance with the pro\asions of section fourteen of chapter seven
hundred and nineteen of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and thirteen,
and amendments thereof.

Section 3. If a city or town, acting under the authority herein
granted, shall plough or harrow or furnish other aid in the cultivation of
private land situated in such city or town upon application of the owner
of such land and for his benefit, the cost of such work shall be paid by
the owner and bills shall be rendered to the owner therefor, and if not
paid on or before the first day of April of any year, the amount so due
and unpaid may be assessed on the land upon which the work was done,
and shall be a lien on the said land enforceable in the same manner and
with the same effect as is provided in the case of assessments for the
suppression of the gypsy and brown tail moth.

Section 4. This act shall take efi"ect upon its passage, and shall, except
as herein otherwise expressly pro\dded, cease to operate on the termina-
tion of the said state of war. [Approved May 17, 1917.

CULTIVATION OF LAND BY PRISONERS.

General Acts, Chapter 129.
An Act relative to the employment of prisoners in recl.\iming and

cultivating l.\ni>.
Be it enacted, etc., as follows:

Section 1. Chapter six hundred and thirty-three of the acts of the
year nineteen hundred and thirteen, as amended by chapter one hundred
and eighty of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and fourteen, and by
(;hapter one hundred and seventy-seven of the General Acts of the year
nineteen hundred and fifteen, is hereby further amended by adding after
section two the following new section to be numbered three: — Section 3.
The director of prisons may purchase or lease land, wath funds specifically

Part II.] AGRirULTURAL LEGISLATION. 171

appropriated therefor by the general court, for the purpose of improving
and cultivating it by the labor of prisoners from the prison camp and
hospital; and the director of prisons may also make arrangements with
officials of the commonwealth and officials of cities and towns to employ
the said prisoners on any unimproved land, and in the construction, repair
and care of public institutions and highways adjacent thereto. When
prisoners are so employed they shall be in the custody of the superintendent
of the prison camp and hospital. There shall be paid into the treasury of
the commonwealth monthly for the labor of any prisoners employed as
above provided, such sums as may be agreed upon between the director
of prisons, the superintendent of the prison camp and hospital and the
other parties in interest. The director of prisons shall annually file an
estimate, at the same time and in the same manner as estimates for the
maintenance of the institutions under his control are required to be filed,
calling for an appropriation to carry out the provisions of this act, includ-
ing the necessarj' services of supervision. Expenditures from the appro-
priation shall be made upon schedules, with vouchers, approved by the
superintendent and the director of prisons; but the expenditures in any
year shall not exceed the amount of the receipts during that year from the
employment of prisoners as aforesaid ; and if in any year the said receipts
exceed the expenditures, the excess shall be transferred and applied toward
the maintenance of the prison camp and hospital.

Section 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Approred
Aprils, 1917.

STATE BUILDING AT EASTERN STATES EXPOSITION.

General Acts, Chapter 325.

An Act to provide for the construction of a state agricultural
and industrial building in west springfield on the grounds of
the eastern states agricultur.'vl and industrial exposition, inc.

Be it enacted, etc., as follows:

Section 1. For the purpose of providing a suitable and adequate
building upon the grounds of the Eastern States Agricultural and Industrial
Exposition, Inc., for the exhibition of the agricultural and industrial
products of the commonwealth, a commission is hereby established, to be
known as the Exposition Building Commission, which shall consist of the
secretary of the state board of agriculture, and two members to be aj)-
pointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the council.

Section 2. The said commission is hereby authorized to expend a sum
not exceeding fifty thousand dollars for the purpose of aiding in the con-
struction of a building upon the said grounds and to make on behalf of the
commonwealth all contracts for the construction of said building: pro-
vided, that they are approved by the governor and council; and puwided,
further, that before anj- contract is made, the Eastern States Agricultural

172 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4.

and Industrial Exposition, Inc., shall have given to the commonwealth
such conveyance or lease of land suitable for the proposed building, and
subject to such terms and conditions as may be approved by the governor
and council, and, provided, further, that the fifty thousand dollars au-
thorized by this act shall not be available unless and until the Eastern
States Agricultural and Industrial Exposition, Inc., has raised and set
apart a sufficient sum to complete the said building.

Section 3. No commissioner appointed under this act shall receive
any compensation for his services in carrying out its provisions, nor shall
he be interested directly or indirectly in any contract made under this act,
under penalty of removal from office by the governor and council, and of
punishment as provided in section nine of chapter two hundred and ten of
the Re\'ised Laws.

Section 4. The said building may be used for the purpose of exhibiting
both agricultural and industrial products of the commonwealth, but shall
be under the supervision and control of the secretary of the state board of
agriculture, and shall be maintained by and at the expense of the com-
monwealth.

Section 5. For the purpose of defraying the expenses incurred under
the authority of this act, a sum not exceeding fifty thousand dollars is
hereb}^ appropriated to be paid out of the treasury of the commonwealth
from the ordinary revenue. [Approved May 25, 1917.

WESTPORT AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Special Acts, Chapter 282.
An Act in aid of the westport agricultural society.
Be it enacted, etc., as follows:

Section 1. The Westport Agricultural Society, situated in the town
of Westport, shall be entitled to receive the bounty provided for by section
one of chapter one hundred and twenty-four of the Revised Laws, as
amended by chapter one hundred and thirty-three of the acts of the year
nineteen hundred and nine, as affected by chapter two hundred and sixty
of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and twelve, by chapter two hun-
dred and forty of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and thirteen, and
by chapter two hundred and nine of the acts of the year nineteen hundred
and fourteen, and as further amended by chapter two hundred and seventy-
six of the said acts of the year nineteen hundred and fourteen, to the same
extent as if the said chapter two hundred and seventy-six had not been
passed.

Section 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Approved
April IS, 1917.

Part II.l AGRICULTURAL LEGLSLATIOX. 173

INCORPORATION OF AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS.

General Acts, Chapter 224.

An Act to permit the incorporation of agricultural and horticul-
tural ORGANIZATIONS UNDER THE LAWS RELATING TO BUSINESS COR-
PORATIONS.

Be it enacted, etc., as folloivs:

Section 1. Agricultural or horticultural organizations, instituted for
the purposes of mutual help, may incorporate in the manner provided in
chapter four hundred and thirty-seven of the acts of the year nineteen
hundred and three and amendments thereof, and shall be subject to the
pro\'isions of said chapter and amendments thereof: provided, however,
that if such a corporation is formed for the purpose of doing business at
cost for the benefit of its members, it shall not be required to have a capital
stock.

Section 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Approved
May 4, 1917.

INDEX.

INDEX

Agricultural instruction in towns, law regarding, ....

legislation for 1917, .......

organizations, law regarding the incorporation of, .
School, Bristol County, law providing for change in name,

Essex County, law providing for change in name,
societies, law relating to granting of bounty to.
Society, Westport, law providing for payment of bounty to.
Agriculture, State Board of, law relating to expenses of,
list of members, .
Public Winter Meeting of,
Apple grading, law relating to, ... .

Apples, storage of, ......

Appropriations, emergency, law authorizing cities and towns to make in tini
of war, .....

Arbor and Bird Day, law establishing,
Arnold, Sarah Louise, address by, on War Service through Food Con
servation, . . . . . . . . .

Bees, need of, in apple orchards, ......

production of honey by, in United States,
Bird and Arbor Day, law establishing, .....

Blackleg disease of potatoes, .......

Blight, early, of potatoes, .......

late, of potatoes, .......

Bonus paid beekeepers for putting bees in orchards during pollination
Bordeaux mixture, directions for making, ....

Bounties to agricultural societies, law relating to,
poultry associations, law relating to.
Bounty, law providing payment of, to Westport Agricultural Society,
Bristol County Agricultural School, law providing for change in name.

Cabbage, storage of,
Canned goods, storage of,
Celery, storage of,
Cellars, heated, storage in.
Comb honey, concerning.

Commercial feeding stuffs, law relative to sale of.

Common Potato Diseases and their Control, essay on, by A. Vincent Osmun,

Common Storage of Fruits and Vegetables, essay on, by Edward Howe

Forlnish, ......

Corn, Flint, as safest and most profitable crop,

preparation of land for growing,

selection of seed, concerning.

Significance of a Kernel of. The, address on, by George M. Twitchell,

storage of ........... .

PAGE

161
153
173
162
161
156
172
155
5
7
159
142

169
160

112

70
71
160
129
126
126
69
132
156
157
172
162

141
143
142
135
150
168
125

134
88
91
93
85

145

178

INDEX.

PAGE

Cost of Milk Production, tables relating to, ..... . 57, 58

Credit for Farmers, Short-time, address on, by Charles P. Holland, . . 39

Cullen, George A., address by, on The Relation of the Railroad to the Farmer, 99

Diseases, Common Potato, and their Control, essay on, by A. Vincent Osmun, 125

Dog Law Commission, resolve providing for appointment of, . . . 168

laws, enforcement of, by Commissioners on Fisheries and Game, law

concerning, .......... 167

Drainage surveys, law relating to, ....... . 158

Dry rot and wilt of potatoes, . . . . . . . . 131

Early blight of potatoes, ......... 126

Eastern States Exposition, State Building at, law providing for construction

of, 171

Emergency appropriations, law authorizing cities and towns to make, in war

times, . . . . . . . . . . . .169

Essex County Agricultural School, law providing for change in name, . 161

Extracted honey, concerning, ........ 150

Farm labor situation, the, concerning, ......

Farm loans, cost of, to farmer, .......

how obtained by farmers, ......

Farms, experimental and demonstration, investment in, by railroads, .
Federal Land Bank, Work of the, address on, by Leonard G. Robinson,
Feeding stuffs, commercial, law relative to sale of, .

Fees, law to prohibit charging, for inspection of dairy, milk and live stock,
Flint corn, as the safest and most profitable crop, ....

Food Administration, law concerning, ......

Conservation, War Service through, address on, by Sarah Louise
Arnold, ..........

Foot and mouth disease, law concerning, .....

Forbush, Edward Howe, essay by, on The Common Storage of Fruits and

Vegetables, ..........

Fruits and Vegetables, The Common Storage of, essay on, by Edward Howe

Forbush, ...........

33

37

34

104

28
168
166

88
169

112
166

134

134

Gates, Burton N., essay by, on Interpretation of the Net Weight Regula-
tions for marking Packages of Honey, ......

Gilbert, Arthur W., address by, on The Cost of Milk Production in New
England, ...........

Grading milk, concerning, ........

law relating to, .......

146

54

82

163

Harding, H. A., address by, on How may the Inspector know when Milk
is Good, ...........

Holland, Charles P., address by, on Short-time Credit for Farmers, .
Honey as sugar substitute, ........

comb, concerning, ........

containers, where procurable, ......

extracted, concerning, .......

Interpretation of the Net Weight Regulations for marking Packages
of, essay on, by Burton N. Gates, .....

paper containers for, ........

. Production, the Importance of, address on, by E. R. Root,

74

39

67

150

151

150

146

151

66

INDEX.

179

Horse radish, storage of, ........

How may the Inspector know when Milk is Good, address on, by H. A
Harding, ...........

Importance of Honey Production, The, address on, by E. R. Root,
Incorporation of agricultural organizations, law regarding the, .
Independent Agricultural School of Bristol County, law providing for

change in name of , .
Independent Agricultural School of Essex County, law providing for change

in name of ...... .

Instruction, agricultural, in towns, law relating to.

Interpretation of the Net Weight Regulations for marking Packages of

Honey, essay on, by Burton N. Gates, .....

Land Bank, Federal, Work of the, address on, by Leonard G. Robinson,

cultivation of, by prisoners, law concerning,

law authorizing municipalities to work,
Late blight of potatoes.
Legislation, agricultural, for 1917, .

relating to milk and live stock,
Loans, farm, aggregate of, .

Market News Service, The Value of, to Farmers and Friiit Growers, ad

dress on, by Howard W. Selby,
Milk business, effect of organization on, .
Milk, food value, standards of,
Milk grading, concerning,

law relating to,
How the Inspector may know when Good, address on, by H. A

Harding, .....
pasteurized, law concerning, .
Production, The Cost of, in New England, address on, by Arthur AV

Gilbert

production, cost of, tables relating to,
standard, law concerning,
standards of cleanliness,

healthfulness,
finality of, .

Onions, storage of, ....

Organization, effect on milk business,

Ornithologist, State, law relating to,

Osmun, A. Vincent, essay by, on Common Potato Diseases and their Control,

Parsnips, storage of, .
Pasteurized milk, law concerning, .
Pattee, Richard, address by, on What Organization has done for the Milk
Business, ..........

PljTTioiith County Trxist Company, co-operation of, with farmers,

work of, in regard to farm loans.
Pollination, how effected, .......

Potato Diseases, Common, and their Control, essay on, by A. Vincent O
Potato sprays, .....

Potatoes, blackleg disease of,

early and late blight of, .

PAGE
141

74

66
173

162

161
161

146

28
170
169
126
155
163

31

8

44

74

82

163

74
16.5

54
57,58
165
76
75
78

142

44

159

125

141
165

44

42

39

68

125

131

129

126

180

INDEX.

PAGE

Potatoes, results of hill selection of, ....... 94

scab on, .......... 129

scizrf and Rhizoctonia on, . . . . . . .127

Poultry associations, law relating to bounty to, ..... 157

Prisoners, use of, in reclaiming and cultivating land, law concerning, . . 170
Public defence act, the, . . . . . . . . .169

Railroad, The Relation of, to the Farmer, address on, by George A. Cullen, . 99

Records, need for keeping, in the dairy. ....... GO

Regulations, Net Weight, Interpretation of the, for marking Packages of

Honey, by Burton N. Gates, ........ 146

Relation of the Railroad to the Farmer, The, address on, by George A. Cullen, 99

Results of placing bees in orchards, ....... 69

Robinson, Leonard G., address by, on The Work of the Federal Land Bank, 28

Root, E. R., address by, on The Importance of Honey Production, . . 66

Salsify, storage of, .......... 141

Scab on potatoes, ........... 129

Scurf or Rhizoctonia on potatoes, . . . . . . . .127

control measures for, ...... 128

Seed selection as means of increasing crop production. .... 97

Selby, Howard W., address by, on The Value of a Market News Service to

Farmers and Fruit Growers, ........ 8

Short-time Credit for Farmers, address on, by Charles P. Holland, . . 39

Significance, The, of a Kernel of Corn, address on, by George M. Twitchell, 85

Sprays for potatoes, .......... 131

Squashes and pumpkins, storage of, ....... 141

State Building at Eastern States Exposition, law providing for construction of, 171

Storage, cellar, . . . . . . . . . . . 137

barn 137

concrete plan for, ........ 144

root, outdoor, ........ 138

closet in cellar, ......... 136

ditch, 139

house, ........... 137

pits, outdoor, .......... 139

surface, ........... 140

Storage, The Common, of Fruits and Vegetables, essaj' on, by Edward Howe

Forbush 134

Sugar, honey as substitute for, ........ 67

Tobacco growing, experimental work in, law concerning, .... 163

Transportation of farm products, concerning, . . . . . .103

Twitchell, George M., address by, on The Significance of a Kernel of Corn, 85

Value of a Market News Service to Farmers and Fruit Growers, The, address

on, by Howard W. Selby, ......... 8

War Service through Food Conservation, address on, by Sarah Louise

Arnold 112

Westport Agricultural Society, law providing for payment of bounty to, . 172

Wet lands, law relating to drainage of, ...... - 158

What Organization has done for the Milk Business, address on, by Richard

Pattee 44

White pine blister rust, law relating to, . . . . - . .155

Work of the Federal Land Bank, The, address on, by Leonard G. Robinson, . 28