318 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



From year to year recommendations have been made with a view 

 of making the Department of Agriculture more efficient and of more 

 value to the general public. 



At present the publications of the Department are limited to the 

 Iowa Year Book of Agriculture, and the meager sum of $2,400.00 per 

 year is appropriated for the salary of the Secretary and clerical hire. 

 With these limitations placed upon the Department it is impossible to 

 accomplish as much as we should like. 



Should the legislature see fit to make a more generous appropria- 

 tion for carrying on the work of the Department, and authorize the 

 printing of such bulletins and pamphlets by the State Printer as the 

 Board might recommend, much good might be accomplished and a 

 great deal of information given to the public that would be of value, 

 but which is now dead material before it reaches them through the 

 annual Year Book. 



The Crop and Farm Statistics collected by the township assessors 

 and tabulated by the department are the source of much authentic and 

 valuable data, but for the reason that provision is not made for print- 

 ing it in pamphlet form immediately after the tabulation, a great deal 

 of value is lost. 



The report of the Stallion Registration Division, showing the name 

 of the owner and name of each stallion qualified for public service in 

 the State should be made a separate report and placed in the hands of 

 each owner and veterinarian directly after the first of the year, if the 

 law is to be properly enforced. Other bulletins dealing with beef pro- 

 duction, the dairy industry, prevention of cholera among swine, poul- 

 try raising, care and selection of seed, and numerous other subtjects, 

 should be prepared and mailed out at a time when they would be of 

 most benefit to the farmers. 



Going a little further, attractive pamphlets might be prepared set- 

 ting forth the state's natural advantages, resources, and agricultural 

 production and distributed at various land expositions with a view 

 of encouraging immigration to Iowa. 



In other words, provide the means for making the Department of 

 Agricultural a bureau of information on all subjects pertaining to agri- 

 culture and live stock production, and a department to furnish reliable 

 data relative to the agricultural advantages and resources of our State. 



IOWA STATE FAIR AND EXPOSITION. 



It gives me pleasure to report that the fifty-eighth annual exhibi- 

 tion of the Iowa State Fair and Exposition was a success from the 

 standpoint of exhibits, attendance and receipts. As to the educational 

 features and value of the fair it seems to be the universal opinion that 

 it out-ranked any of the preceding fairs in this respect. This was very 

 Concisely stated in the following editorial write-up in the Iowa Home- 

 stead immediately after the close of the fair: 



