10 Twenty-Second Annual Report of the 



The Law also provides that any agricultural society, club or exposition 

 which shall " knowingly permit any immoral, lewd, obscene or indecent show 

 or exhibition " shall also forfeit its right to moneys it might be entitled to 

 under the provisions of Article V of the Agricultural Law. 



It is my duty, as Commissioner of Agriculture, to enforce rigidly these 

 provisions of the Agricultural Law, and to carry out the letter of the law 

 in relation thereto. No leniency will be shown to violators. 



The Department found it necessary to make strict regulations 

 as to the exhibits of cattle, sheep, and swine at the fairs this past 

 fall, in order to avoid the dangers of the further spread of foot- 

 and-mouth disease in the State. A thorough examination of all 

 such animals, by a competent veterinarian, was required before 

 they were permitted to enter the fairground; and certain con- 

 ditions had to be complied with as to their stabling and t'are while 

 at the fair. 



The response from the fair associations in regard to all these 

 matters was very encouraging. All expressed a willingness and 

 desire to co-operate with the Department in carrying out the re-- 

 quirements of law and such regulations as were deemed requisite. 

 Without exception, the fairs were conducted in a very commend- 

 able manner, and to their credit may be said that at the end of the 

 fair season not a single protest or criticism had been made to 

 the Department, either by an individual or by the New York 

 Civic League. 



It is the opinion of the present Commissioner that in the future 

 more attention should be directed toward the work of the fair 

 organizations, in order that the Department may feel assured 

 that the $250,000 appropriated is used for the purposes designed 

 as set forth in the Agricultural Law : " For the promotion of 

 agriculture and domestic arts, promotion of education along agri- 

 cultural lines, and for the promotion of the improvement in the 

 breeding of cattle, sheep, horses and other domestic animals." 



PERIOD COVERED BY REPORT 



This report covers work done by the Department for the fiscal 

 year ending September 30, 1915, with the exception of that per- 

 formed under the provisions of Article 1 of the Agricultural Law, 



