WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 357 



capacities with the usual tolerances, and contains most of the other pro- 

 visions of the milk bottle section of the model law. 



Maryland completely revised its statutes on the subject of weights 

 and measures and the new law provides for a complete system of 

 county and city inspection, under the salary system. The most serious 

 defect in this law is the omission to provide any state supervision what- 

 ever. It has been found in the past that without some state officer to 

 assist the local sealers, the enforcement of any law is lax and unsatisfac- 

 tory and it remains to be seen whether Maryland can succeed where so 

 many states have heretofore been unsuccessful. 



Massachusetts made several important additions to the statutes dur- 

 ing the past three years. In 1911 two laws were added in relation to the 

 cranberry barrel and other packages and to the weight of a barrel of 

 potatoes. In 1912 the list of legal weights per bushel for fruits and 

 vegetables was amended and amplified and it was provided that all fruits 

 and vegetables for which a legal weight was established should be sold 

 only by numerical count or by weight, thus eliminating the use of the 

 dry measure for a very large number of important commodities. At the 

 last session of the legislature a determined effort was made to nullify this 

 law and to reintroduce the old method of selling by measure, a bill being 

 introduced to this effect. This passed the lower house but was defeated 

 in the senate; so the ground gained has not been lost. The second 

 important amendment was the passage of a bill making it unlawful to 

 sell any commodity by any other weight than the net weight of the com- 

 modity. It is believed that the sale of commodities by gross weight can 

 be prevented, regardless of any statement to the contrary, under the 

 terms of this law. The abuse of charging retailers and consumers for 

 wooden cores, backsticks, heavy burlap and paper wrappings, cord, 

 etc., at the price of the commodity itself upon the strength of a 

 statement upon the invoice or delivery ticket that the delivery is made 

 "gross weight," may thus be eliminated in this state by a competent 

 enforcement of this law. Other bills were also enacted requiring the 

 measuring by sworn city or town officials of all leather sold by measure ; 

 and the testing and sealing or condemning of all machines used in the 

 measuring of leather. On account of the very large shoe manufactur- 

 ing industries in this state this subject is of very great importance here. 



Michigan enacted legislation at the last session which was based 

 directly on the model law. Some of the sections were adopted practically 

 intact while others were amended in important particulars, these amend- 

 ments in nearly every case, however, tending to weaken the original law. 

 The state dairy and food commissioner is, by virtue of his office, the state 

 superintendent of weights and measures for the state. His deputy is like- 

 wise deputy state superintendent of weights and measures and all inspec- 

 tors in the dairy and food department are state inspectors of weights and 

 measures as well. The next important amendment apparently prevents 



