SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART II 109 



ment and teaching field and to the Department o£ Agriculture was given 

 the field of control and regulatory woi'k with the police power. This 

 division of work and oi'ganization is proving most effective and dcsirahle 

 to all concerned. Regulatory and policing work breaks in upon teaching 

 and research work, causing loss of time and an irritation to the person 

 responsible for both, thus resulting in imperfect and unsatisfactory work 

 along both lines. Where ail of the regulatory work is grouped in one 

 department whose officials have no other lines of w^ork, the men in charge 

 can be selected for this special type of work. Moreover, continual practice 

 in the control work develops a certain type of individual peculiarly 

 adapted to this kind of work. There is no part of the activities of the 

 state in behalf of agriculture more important than the regulatory and 

 police work, and none which should be more carefully organized and 

 administered by honest, well-trained men, guarded from partisan influence, 

 and backed up by the authority of the state. 



REGULATIONS FOR STABILITY AND PERMANENCE. 



The law of the state of "Wisconsin establishing the Department of Agri- 

 culture provides as qualifications for the head of this department that 

 he shall be trained by an agricultural education and by practical expe- 

 rience as a specialist in agriculture. His term of office is made as long 

 as possible in order to protect the office from political influence due to 

 changes in administration. This selection and protection of the head 

 of the department insures the selection of a trained man for commissioner, 

 and through him trained men for every division and line of work within 

 the department, it insures the maximum efficiency, the minimum political 

 interference with those in charge of each line of work, and the greatest 

 possible permanency in all positions within tlie department. 



ACTIVITIES OF THE nEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



A study of the lines of work of various departments of agriculture 

 throughout the United States reveals great variation, both as to the 

 lines of activity and the underlying policy and field of work. Adhering 

 to the field of control work, the following lines of work should be found 

 in an up-to-date agricultural department: 



(1) Marketing. What should be included under this division seems 

 at present uncertain, yet there is no doubt that a great need lies along 

 this line. In some states, as, for instance. New York, this division issues 

 licenses to commission firms and thus protects the farmer who deal 

 directly with such firms. Commission merchants doing interstate busi- 

 ness, would, however, be little subject to this control. There is also a need 

 of an office for the appeal on the part of farmers where grievances 

 concernijig rates or methods of dealing could be looked into. 



(2) Dairy and Food Division. The field of work included in this 

 division is so well known that it requires no explanation. The Wisconsin 

 Dairy and Food Commission has during the past year carried forward 

 a particularly valuable type of work in the inspection of creamery and 

 cheese factories and the issuances of licenses to the operators of the 



