NINTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART IV 131 
Fair and Exposition I want to thank the people of Iowa for their in- 
terest and loyalty to the fair, for it is their fair and they have made it. 
Mr. President : I take pleasure in presenting to you ]\Ir. Simp- 
son, who will now give the report of the Secretary for 1908. 
SECRETARY'S REPORT. 
Once again it becomes my duty to present a report to the annual 
State Agricultural Convention. 
The stability of Iowa's great resources was never more apparent than 
during the past twelve months. The panic in the late fall of 1907 was felt 
to a greater extent in the states to the east and south than in Iowa. This 
was followed by extremely dry weather during the past season, which 
in many sections became quite a serious problem for the farmers late 
in the summer and early fall, reducing the yield of farm crops very 
materially. During all this period Iowa has stood out promiently as a 
bright shining star. The panic affected less the farmers and the indus- 
tries of this state than in any other section of the country. Again, 
while the farmers in the eastern and southern states were praying for 
rain, the annual harvest in Iowa and the maturing corn crop gave 
evidence of a normal yield, with prices somewhat higher. Considering 
the conditions throughout the country for the past twelve months, the 
26th day of November was in reality a day of thanks for Iowa people. 
The work of the Department of Agriculture has been carried on in the 
best possible manner with the limited means available under the present 
statute. In the introductory of the Iowa Year Book of Agriculture for 
1907 was set forth some additional requirements for the department to 
enable it to carry on the work in a more efficient manner. This in- 
troductory included our recommendation for a larger support fund and 
amendments to existing laws granting authority to the Department to 
issue bulletins from time to time containing such information and sta- 
tistics as w^ould be of interest to the public. This would include the is- 
suing of special bulletins after the annual gatherings of the Iowa Swine 
Breeders' and the Iowa Dairy Associations. At the close of the institute 
season another bulletin should be published giving a condensed state- 
ment of thier work for the past year, suggestions for programs and man- 
agement of institutes, and other information helpful to institute workers 
— making the bulletin meet the demands as they would present themselves. 
Still another bulletin should be issued with special reference to the 
workings of the stallion law, giving a revised list, by counties, at least 
once each year, of the stallions upon which state certificates had been 
issued. This would aid in carrying out the provisions of the law by plac- 
ing a copy of said bulletin in the hands of every owner of a pure bred 
stallion, who would be on their guard to report any violations. A bulletin 
at the close of the season for the holding of county and district fairs 
would be useful to all connected with the management of said fairs, 
as well as the patrons. Other bulletins might be added on special sub- 
jects, as may be deemed wise for the purpose of promoting agricultural 
production and agricultural education. At present the only authorized 
