18 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



UOO.OO. The registration of fertilizers sliowed 1,488 brands, bringing 

 into the State Treasury in fees of |25.3C5.00. There were 2,454 

 samples collected during the year by 13 agents who canvassed their 

 districts twice during the year. 



Legislation is needed in an amended fertilizer law changing the 

 manner of collecting the revenue from a fertilizer tax to a tonnage 

 tax. As there is a growing tendency of the general trade to reduce 

 the number of brands, thereby resulting in a loss of revenue to the 

 State, a tonnage tax would stop this reduction, as the tonnage re- 

 mains from year to year normally the same. 



THE AGRICULTURAL COMMISSION 



As per Act No. 240, approved by your Excellency, May 18, 1915, 

 a State Commission of Agriculture was created. Upon this Commis- 

 sion were appointed representative citizens of the State, representing 

 the various lines of agriculture, who have entered upon their duties 

 in studying the whole subject as it relates to the Commonwealth. 

 Since the appointment of myself as the Secretary of Agriculture, 

 but two meetings of the Commission have been held, hence nothing 

 of importance has been done, excepting to outline the policy of the 

 Department and to discuss the great problems that are to make for 

 a greater agriculture in Pennsylvania. 



The personnel of the members of the Commission reflects credit 

 on your Excellency's judgment in their appointment, and with their 

 co-operation the Department anticipates branching out on new and 

 very important lines which we believe will be for a great uplift along 

 all lines of agriculture in the State. 



BUREAU OF PUBLICATIONS 



During the year 1915, the Department issued 11 bulletins, Nos. 

 260 to 270, both inclusive. The demand for Department reports and 

 bulletins is very great, each year showing an increased interest in 

 agricultural knowledge over the preceding year. Bequests come from 

 the schools of the State for literature along agricultural lines, and 

 many High Schools use the bulletins of the Department in class 

 study. 



Since 1899, 15 annual reports, aggregating 13,000 pages and 228 

 bulletins aggregating 20,165 pages have been published. During the 

 same period there has been distributed to the people of the Com- 

 monwealth, various states of the Union and foreian countries, about 

 550,000 copies of the Department publications. This number does not 

 include the annual reports distributed by the members of the Senate 

 find House of Representatives, aggregating in 15 years about 210,000 

 making a total of 760,000 copies of reports and bulletins sent out for 

 the information of the people in agriculture and allied subjects. 



Neither does the above number include the monthly bulletins issued 

 by the Dairy and Food Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Zoology, 

 from which has gone out during the past 15 years at least 1,000,000 

 copies making a grand total of more than 1,760,000 of copies of 

 literature for the benefit of the general farmer, trucker, fruit grower 

 and producer of livestock, etc., distributed during that time. There 

 are on hand at the present time for distribution more than 100,000 

 publications. 



