xiv BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



societies represented on the Board, with the excei)tion of 

 the ^lassachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture and 

 the Worcester Agricultural Society, held the 3 institutes 

 required, and (i societies held 4 or more. There have also 

 been institutes held in sections of the State where there 

 Avas no agricultural society having membership on the 

 Board, and where there seemed an imperative call for such 

 meetinirs. The avera^-e attendance of the institutes has 

 been very good, being 104, against 107 last year, 91 in 

 1900 and 94 in 1899. At 3 of the meetings the attend- 

 ance was 300 or over; at 12, from 200 to 300 ; at 39, from 

 100 to 200 ; at 36, from 50 to 100 ; and at 24, less than 50. 

 There are a few societies which still need to improve their 

 Avork in this line before they will be giving an honest equiv- 

 alent for the assistance they receive. It is the constant eftbrt 

 of this office to bring about improvement in these societies, 

 and it is a pleasure to record that several of those formerly 

 in this class have done much better work the past year. 



, Insectivorous Birds. 



I desire once again to recommend to this Board action to 

 attract and protect the birds so essential to the success of 

 the farmer's labors. There should be concert of action to 

 make most effective tlu* law s now on the statute books of 

 the Connnonwealth, to bring to punishment the violators 

 and further to i)rotect from cruel killing the larger birds. 

 Snap shooting or shooting in the brush before the leaves 

 fall should be provided against in every community. The 

 number of Avounded birds left to suffer necessarily apjjcal 

 to us most strongly, and to protect them is our duty. The 

 laAv is iu)t Avhat it should be, for travelling over our lands 

 should not be considered a right to be prohibited, but a 

 privilege to be conferred in every case ; but to use Avhat 

 laAv Ave have, and to enforce it to prevent suffering, should 

 be our desire as Avell as our duty. 



Chapter 308, Acts of 1884, reads as folloAvs : — 



Section 1. AYlieuever the owner of any laud shall conspicu- 

 ously post ou the same notices that shooting or trapping is pro- 



