No. 4.] REPORT OF SECRETARY. 35 



A regulation of the Board or a change in the law to the effect 

 that the face of the barrel will have to be fairly representative 

 of the contents will probably be adopted, as well as one allowing 

 for less color in the grades during a season of poor color. It 

 may be necessary to make other perfecting amendments before 

 the law is entirely workable. Certainly the passage of this law 

 has brought to the attention of our fruit growers the necessity 

 of better grading, and used as an educational measure for two 

 or three years, it should do much to help in the general question 

 of better apple packing. 



Vermont and Connecticut were the only other New England 

 States to pass the law, but it is hoped that others will soon 

 follow. Maine already has a similar law, while New York's 

 is almost identical with ours. 



The test of this law will come by a thorough trial (and it is 

 hoped that those packing under the law will be patient of 

 results). We should not expect immediate results, but rather 

 over a term of years by gradually improving our product and 

 by careful grading thereof may we expect the increased financial 

 returns. Your secretary recommends that an appropriation of 

 $2,000 be secured for the enforcement of this law and for 

 educational work concerning it. 



Rural Credits. 



The land bank bill, recommended by the western transporta- 

 tion committee and generally stipported by the agricultural 

 interests, was enacted into a law which creates the machinery 

 for developing a better system of credit for our farmers. 



At the present time the first bank to be established is in 

 process of organization, and it is hoped that by next spring 

 the bank will be in operation. 



This bank will probably be located in Springfield, and it 

 may be found necessary to organize others in order to serve 

 other sections of the State. 



Already a great many inquiries have come to both Springfield 

 and this office relative to loans, showing that considerable 

 interest in such a proposition exists. 



The recent conference held in Chicago on marketing and 

 rural credits was attended by your secretary, who read a paper 



