XX BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



instances a financial loss. This is to be regretted. It is unfort- 

 unate tliat such organizations are ol:)liged to plan and scheme 

 for money making ; but, as long as the expenses of the society, 

 including care of grounds, erection and repair of buildings, 

 printing, advertising, and all premiums above the amount of 

 the six hundred dollars of State bounty, must be paid largely 

 from money received from admission fees, so long must the 

 officers plan to attract the crowd. This is not altogether a 

 misfortune. The cattle-shoNV day should be a holiday for 

 the farmer, a day of recreation for his family ; and, if the 

 whole community are interested in the affair, so much the 

 l)etter for the agricultural part of it. The law of the State 

 and the regulations of the Board require each society to pay 

 in premiums for strictly agricultural purposes an amount at 

 least equal to the amount of bounty received from the State. 

 The expenses and the cost of holiday attractions can in no 

 case be paid from the bounty. Detailed reports of the 

 doings of societies are required hy law to be made to the 

 secretary of the Board. 



The thirty-three incorporated societies which held fairs 

 last fall paid $60,721.25 in premiums and gratuities ; their 

 total actual assets, as reported to this office, Dec. 1, 1889, 

 were $783,723.64; and their total actual liabilities were 

 $172,982.59. 



One new society, the Worcester East, located at Clinton- 

 Lancaster, has been incorporated by the Legislature of 1890. 



There is room for improvement in the returns of some of 

 the societies. In order to have the returns of value, the}' 

 should all l)e made up on the same system. It is proposed 

 to issue a detailed circular of instructions along with the 

 usual blanks for returns next season, so that these variations 

 may be prevented, and this office have a summary that shall 

 exhi])it the condition and Avork of each society on the same 

 basis. 



The live stock of the State is almost entirely free from con- 

 tagious diseases, unless we class tuberculosis with contagious 

 diseases. Whether it be contagious in the technical sense, 

 or not, there can be no dou1)t that it is sufficiently prevalent in 

 the dairy herds of the State to ^varrant not only close atten- 

 tion from stock owners, but grave consideration ])v the Board 



