182 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



and shall hold their ofiices for two years from the last Wednesday of Febru- 

 ary or until their successors are chosen. 



Sec. 7. (Conip. Laws, § 3538.) Tiio Board shall direct the disposition of 

 any moneys appropriated to the State Agricultural College. 



Sec. 8. (Comp. Laws, § 3539.) The Secretary of the Board shall reside 

 at or near the Agricultural College, and keep his ot!ice at the 

 city of Lansing, in the State buildings, or at the Listitution, as 

 the Board shall direct. It shall be his duty to keep a record of 

 the transactions of the State Board of Agriculture, and of the State 

 Agricultural College and farms, which shall be open at i\\\ times to the 

 inspectiou of any citizens of this State. He shall also have tlie custody of all 

 books, papers, documents, and other property which may be deposited in his 

 office, including specimens of the vegetable and animal kingdoms of the 

 State or counties; also, keep and file all reports which maybe made from 

 time to time by county and State Agricultural and Horticultural Societies, 

 and all correspondence of the office from other persons and societies apper- 

 taining to the general business of husbandry; address circulars to societies, 

 and the best practical farmers in the State and elsewhere, with the view of 

 eliciting information upon the newest and best mode of culture of those 

 products, vegetables, trees, etc., adapted to the soil and climate of this State; 

 also, on all subjects connected with field culture, horticulture, stock-raising, 

 and the dairy. He shall encourage the formation of agricultural societies 

 throughout the State, and purchase, receive, and distribute such rare and val- 

 uable seeds, plants, shrubbery, and trees as it may be in his power to procure 

 from the general government and other sources, as may be adapted to our 

 climate and soils. He shall also encourage the importation of improved breeds 

 of horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, and other live stock, and the invention and 

 improvement of labor-saving implements of husbandry, and diffuse informa- 

 tion in relation to the same. He shall encourage such domestic industry and 

 household arts as are calculated to promote the general thrift, wealth, and 

 resources of the State. To effect those objects he shall correspond with the 

 Patent Office at Washington, and representatives of our national government 

 abroad, and if possible procure valuable contributions to agriculture from 

 those sources. He shall aid, as far as possible, in obtaining contributions to 

 the museums and the Library of the State Agricultural College, and thus 

 'aid in the promotion of agriculture, science, and literature. 



Sec. 9. (Comp. Laws §3540.) The seeds, plants, trees, and shrubbery 

 received by the Secretaiy, and not needed by the College, shall be, so lar af 

 possible, distributed equally throughout the State, and placed in the hands of 

 those farmers and others who will agree to cultivate them properly, and 

 return to the Secretary's office a reasonable proportion of the products thereof, 

 with a full statement^of the mode of cultivation, and such other informa- 

 tion as maybe necessary to ascertain their value for general cultivation in the 

 State. Information in'regard to agriculture may be published by him, from 

 time to time, in the newspapers of the State, provided it does not involve any 

 expense to the State. 



[Sec. 10, Comp. Laws § 3541, provided for reports and their distribution. 

 It has been repealed, and its purposes provided for in Act No. 52, 18'; 9, as to 

 the printing and distribution of reports, and Act 206, Laws 1881, for the mak- 

 ing of reports.] 



Sec. 11, (Comp. Laws § 3542.) The secretary shall receive, as a compen- 



