No. 123.] REPORT OF COMMISSIONER. 47 



and though supported by the Department was ultimateh' referred to the 

 next General Court. It was in accordance with the Department's purpose 

 to promote the standardization of containers used for agricultural prod- 

 ucts, and a similar bill will be urged during the next session. 



Various bills to provide for the financing of county farm bureaus, 

 particularly House Document Nos. 269 and 995, were supported. The 

 act finally passed (chapter 103, Acts of 1920), places the burden of fi- 

 nancing the county bureaus upon the several counties. 



The Commissioner, like the other heads of departments, was author- 

 ized by chapter 44, Acts of 1920, to designate another person in his De- 

 partment to perform his duties during his absence or disability. 



Several bills (House Document Nos. 595 and IISS and Senate Docu- 

 ment No. 9) were proposed to provide for State assistance to soldiers and 

 sailors in buying farms, but none of these bills were passed. 



A bill (Senate Document No. 145) would have created a new division 

 in the Department to supervise farms at State institutions. The De- 

 partment advised with the committee to which this bill was referred and 

 this committee reported a new bill in somewhat different form (Senate 

 Document No. 348). The possibility of difficulties arising from the em- 

 ployment of the supervising agriculturist in one department to work on 

 farms under the control of other departments, and possibly certain other 

 considerations, led to the rejection of the bill. 



The Department also followed the progress of bills relating to the con- 

 tinuation of the Commission on Necessaries of Life, but did not actively 

 favor or oppose any of these. 



In its report made to the General Court the Commission on Necessaries 

 of Life recommended a strengthening of the law providing for the estab- 

 lishing of public markets and market places. This proposal was sup- 

 ported by the Department, but the law ultimately adopted was much 

 weaker than the bill recommended by the Commission and the Depart- 

 ment (chapter 508) . 



The department also advocated the passage of bills (Senate Document 

 Nos. 457 and 458) to provide for increasing the indemnities for tuber- 

 culous cattle, slaughtered by official order, and to provide for co-operation 

 between the State and the Federal authorities in eradicating tuberculosis 

 from herds in the State. The first of these bills passed as chapter 470, 

 but the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, after considering Senate 

 Document No. 458, recommended a resolve providing for a further study 

 of the control and eradication of tuberculosis in cattle. The resolve 

 provided for an ex officio commission consisting of the Commissioner of 

 Agriculture, the Commissioner of Conservation and the Director of the 

 Division of Animal Industry to make the proposed study. This resolve 

 was passed as chapter 81 of the resolves. 



In addition to its work upon bills relating directly to agriculture the 

 Department supported bills intended to increase the forest resources of 

 the State and certain other bills which seemed likely to be of indirect 

 advantage to farmers. 



