No. 4.] KEPORT OF SECRETARY. xxiii 



of the Massachusetts agricultural societies, to two societies 

 in the State of Maine, one in New Brunswick, and to indi- 

 viduals and ' corporations in the States of Massachusetts, 

 Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Iowa, Missouri, 

 Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois, and also New Brunswick, 

 Nova Scotia and Ontario. The receipts for scales sold 

 amounted to $16.06. Quite a quantity of the cards still 

 remain in the office of the secretary. 



Farmers' Institutes. 



Massachusetts provides liberally for the encouragement 

 of agricultural societies, by a bounty of $600 to each society 

 incorporated in accordance with the laws of the State, and 

 which performs the duties imposed by such laws and com- 

 plies with the regulations of the State Board of Agriculture. 

 Among the regulations imposed by the Board is the follow- 

 ing: "Each agricultural society receiving the bounty of 

 the Commonwealth shall hold within its limits not less than 

 three farmers' institutes each calendar year, and the Board 

 shall render all assistance in its power to make such insti- 

 tutes interesting and profitable. The secretary of the Board 

 shall also attend these institutes, so far as is compatible 

 with the duties of his office, and he shall provide lectures 

 for the institutes, so far as the appropriation for this object 

 will warrant. ..." 



The Board of Agriculture has thought it best to in this 

 way make use of these societies which receive the State's 

 bounty, for the purpose of disseminating useful information 

 in agriculture by the farmers' institutes, in addition to the 

 information that is spread by the comparison of exhibits at 

 the cattle show and fair. The 35 societies receiving bounty 

 cover the whole State, and the 105 institutes annually re- 

 quired to be held by these societies bring the latest axioms 

 of agriculture to the doors of nearly all the farmers of the 

 State. This plan puts upon the societies the duty of select- 

 ing subjects and speakers, appointing time and place and 

 advertising the institute, while the secretary of the Board 

 engages the speaker and pays him from the State appropria- 

 tion for dissemination of useful information in agriculture. 



