REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER. I/ 



fairs, which would necessarily mean that the large fairs must 

 be held later in the season. This might and would upset the 

 present tendency of the state fairs which, at the present time,, 

 depend more upon their horse trots and vaudeville to draw a 

 crowd than upon their agricultural exhibits ; but the trotting 

 horse industry in the State of Maine at the present time is not 

 what it used to be, and it is not for the purpose of encouraging 

 breeding establishments for the raising of trotting horses, but 

 for the excitement of the race itself. It is a subject that is 

 widely discussed just now, how to handle the fairs most profit- 

 ably for the community which they serve. The above would 

 be my recommendation. 



Farmers' Institutes. 



The Farmers' Institutes have been conducted this year, as 

 previously, according to law. We have had all of the experts 

 that we had in 1915, namely: R. G. Hyriicka of Lebanon, 

 Penn., who spoke upon "Horse Breeding" ; George V. Smith 

 of West Willington, Conn., who spoke on "Poultry." These 

 are the best two authorities on their subjects in the United 

 States. At the fall institutes we had Miss Margaret Mahaney 

 of Concord, Mass.. the most successful breeder of turkeys in 

 the eastern part of the United States. She has come to be 

 recognized as one of the foremost authorities on this subject, 

 in this or any other country. It has been one of my ambitions 

 to reestablish the turkey raising industry in the State of Maine 

 on a basis where it can furnish at least our own people with their 

 Thanksgiving dinners. In the past twenty years the turkey 

 has dropped completely out of sight, and there are only a few 

 in the entire state, and these are kept for ornamental purposes 

 rather than for utility purposes, or have been until the past 

 two years. The efforts of Miss Mahaney have resulted in 

 large flocks being grown ; the largest which has come to my 

 attention is at Jackman, where 140 were raised in one flock. 

 In addition to the foregoing subjects, the members of the 

 Department have spoken upon the work that we are trying to 

 do in the state, which is distinctly state work, and this is es- 

 pecially true of the Seed Improvement W^ork. 



