192 GENERAL HISTORY. 



whippoorwill, finch, thush, lark, sparrow, cherry bird, swallow, yellow bird, blue bird^ 

 brown thrasher, \\Ten, martin, oriole, woodpecker, bobolink, or any song bird, or rob 

 the nests of such birds, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction 

 thereof shall be fined five dollars .for each bird so killed, and for each nest so robbed, 

 or confined in the county jail for ten days, or both such fine and imprisonment in the 

 discretion of the court. 



MOKTHLY CEOP REPORTS. 



One of the most useful laws iu Michigaii, as affecting l^.orticulture,. is the 

 one which provides for monthly crop reports. The following is the full text 

 of the law : 



Section 1. The Secretary of State shall each year obtain monthly statements as to the- 

 condition of livestock, condition and prospects of the growing crops, and as soon after 

 the harvests as possible, statements as to the yield of wheat and other farm and fruit 

 products ; he shall also ascertain the quantity of wheat, wool, apples, and other pro- 

 ducts marketed, and the quantity remaining in farmers' hands. And the said Secretary 

 of State shall prepare a montlily abstract of the information thus obtained and shall 

 insert therein the number of townships from which reports have been received and shall 

 publish a sufficient number of copies of the same to furnish one copy to each newspaper 

 published in this State, one copy to each member of the legislature, one copy to each 

 correspondent furnishing information for said abstract, and one thousand copies for 

 general distribution. 



Sec. 2. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, as soon as practicable 

 after the passage of this act, to select not less than one person in each township who 

 shall be wilhng to act as correspondent of the department and furnish the information 

 required by the first section of this act, and such further information as shall be deemed 

 useful. And such person shall thereafter, as long as he shall faithfully perform the 

 duties of a correspondent, be entitled to one copy of each of the reports published by 

 the State department relating to agricultural svibjects, also to one copy of each of the 

 annual reports of the State Board of Agriculture and of the State Horticultural Society.. 



