No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 53 



Among those of the greatest importance, is the new Commercial 

 Fertilizer law, which increases the license fee from ten to fifteen dol- 

 lars for sales of one hundred tons and less, and extends the powers of 

 the Secretary of Agriculture by authorizing him to prosecute offend- 

 ers directly without having to do so through some purchaser. Under 

 the practice and workings of the old law, which provided that the 

 ^'informer be the purchaser and the goods be for his own use," no one 

 could be punished for its violation. 



There is also the "wide tire" law, which grants an annual rebate 

 of one-fourth of the road tax, not exceeding the value of five days' 

 labor, to all who will use a tire of not less than four inches wide in 

 hauling loads of two thousands pounds and over. 



The hauling of loads of ten thousand pounds and over is prohibited, 

 under penalty, unless the wagon has tires at least four inches wide. 

 This is a most important advance in the interest of better roads, since 

 it aims to reduce the wear upon the public highways, by increasing 

 the bearing surface of the wheels, making them rollers, smoothing 

 and compacting the roadway, instead of the knife-like disks which cut 

 it into ruts. 



Another important law, relating to the improvement of the public 

 roads, was passed, amending the act of 1899, which provided for the 

 gathering of stones from the highways once each month during the 

 summer season. The amendment provides a penalty not exceeding 

 ten dollars, to be collected, with costs of suit, from the supervisors, 

 for failure to pick the stones off from the public roads once each 

 month for the months of May, June, August and October. 



A law was passed for the "Protection of Live Stock" against in- 

 fection from animals dying of contagious or infectious diseases, such 

 as anthrax, black quarter, hog cholera, swine plague, rabies or glan- 

 ders. The carcass of such animals must be disposed of in such a 

 way as to effectively destroy or sequester the poison, germ, parasite 

 or infective agent of the disease, with which the animal was afflicted 

 at the time of death. The forbidding of the former careless methods, 

 which dragged the carcass to the woods, te become the prey of dogs 

 or birds or to contaminate streams, is a wise precaution, and will pro- 

 tect the owners of live stock from ignorant or careless neighbors. 



A law was enacted which provides for the "Inspection of Concen- 

 trated Commercial Cattle Feeds." Investigation showed that many 

 of the cattle feeds put upon the markets of Pennsylvania are adul- 

 terated so as to be almost worthless. The purchasers of such feeds 

 had no way of discovering their character without going to great 

 trouble and expense, and thus many thousands of dollars were lost 

 annually to the farmers in the purchase of worthless material. This 

 law requires the tagging of all packages containing concentrated 



