REPORT OF FIELD AGENT, SEED BIPROVEMENT 



WORK. 



To the Hon. J. P. Buckley, Coinmissiouer of Agriculture: 



I respectfully submit the following report of my work in the 

 Maine Department of Agriculture from January ist, 191 1, to 

 September 20th, 191 1, at which time I resigned to continue 

 studies in the University of Maine. 



During the first four months of this year my duties consisted 

 of those pertaining to the investigation and sale of dairy prod- 

 ucts. Besides inspecting dairies and securing samples of dairy 

 products considerable time was devoted to a revision of the 

 laws pertaining to the production and sale of milk and its 

 products. Considerable difficulty arose in the prosecution of 

 certain cases owing to technicalities and general limitations of 

 the law in eflr'ect and as a consequence those interested in the 

 production and marketing of clean milk set about to secure the 

 enactment of laws that would be wider in application and bet- 

 ter for all concerned in the preservation of the public health. 



An act passed by the legislature of 191 1, embodying many 

 points of laws governing the sale of milk and its products in 

 other states now gives greater protection to the public against 

 adulterated milk or milk below standard and unsanitary dairy 

 products. Besides this law the following laws were enacted 

 this year for the protection of public health against impure 

 milk and dairy products. -^ 



An act requiring the cleansing of all milk cans or vessels 

 before being returned to dairymen shipping milk ; an act rela- 

 tive to the sale of oleomargarine. Of further importance to 

 the dairy business there was passed an act decreasing the fees 

 for sealing milk bottles and cans and also, an act making milk 

 bottles and cans sealed by the sealer of weights and measures 

 in any town legally sealed for every town in the State ; and an 



