254 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



for information, for crop and weather reports and for cata- 

 logues sent out, has taken much time. Not less than 

 seventy-five thousand have been addressed during the year. 



The correspondence of the office has increased enormously. 

 We have encouraged inquiries from farmers' clubs, granges 

 and individuals a1)out all agricultural matters, and gladly 

 perform the extra work there])y entailed. The provision for 

 nails for marking trees in the highways which the town 

 authorities desire to preserve as shade trees has also made 

 much work in the office. The original act made it the duty 

 of the secretary of the Commonwealth to attend to the 

 matter, but the Legislature of 1891 transferred it to the 

 Board of Agriculture. The nails are procured by the keg, 

 and distributed in packages by express as applied for. We 

 have also made it a practice to notify all parties having bills 

 against the Gypsy Moth Department, the Dairy Bureau and 

 the Board itself when the State Treasurer is ready to pay 

 them. This work properly belongs to other departments ; 

 l)ut, as this office is better acquainted with the residence of 

 these parties, we have thought it best to do the work, and 

 thereby save our people possible annoyance. 



The expenditure of such large amounts of money upon the 

 approval of the secretary makes it imperative that an itemized 

 account of such expenditures should be kept in the office. 

 Type-written copies of the acts of incorporation and amend- 

 ments thereto of all the agricultural societies and associa- 

 tions, from 1792 to date, have been prepared, and are kept 

 in the office for reference. 



We have commenced the compilation of a synoptical and 

 analytical index of the Massachusetts agricultural reports for 

 the past fifty-two years. This will include Colman's reports, 

 the reports of the secretary of the Commonwealth, and the 

 forty reports of the secretary of the Board of Agriculture. 

 This work when completed will be a great addition to the value 

 of this literature, as the separate volumes have only a general 

 index of subjects. The work is only about one-third accom- 

 plished, but it has already taken at least two full months' time 

 of one of the clerks in the office. 



The time required to arrange for speakers for the insti- 

 tutes of the societies is considerable. The annual volume, 



