No. 4.] REPORT OF SECRETARY. xxi 



State Ornithologist. 



The State Ornltliologist has been one of the busiest members 

 of our force. There is hardly an hour of the day when he has 

 not some caller interested in birds and their protection. His 

 main activity has been centered on the history of game birds, 

 shore birds and wild fowl, which he is preparing and which will 

 be issued within a short time. ' His plans were well in hand to 

 have the report out before the close of the fiscal year, and 

 we hope that it will shortly be available for distribution. It will 

 equal in importance and interest his earlier work on "Useful 

 Birds and their Protection." When the importance and value 

 of these two books is considered, the wisdom of the legislation 

 establishing the office of State Ornithologist is thoroughly vindi- 

 cated. The time has come when something must be done if the 

 present incumbent is to be retained in Massachusetts. Other 

 States and the United States government are reaching out for 

 him, with attractive offers, and his salary should be increased to 

 a living wage, so that he may be kept here and the credit of his 

 work reaped by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I would 

 recommend that the Board present a bill to the Legislature 

 increasing the salary of the State Ornithologist to 12,000 per 

 annum. 



JNIassachusetts Agricultural College. 



The college was unusually successful in the matter of appro- 

 priations during the session of 1911, and the work of develop- 

 ment has proceeded without check. Continued generous sup- 

 port is deserved by the institution, which is growing in numbers 

 and usefulness with every year, but if it is felt that everything 

 asked cannot be given I would suggest that curtailment should 

 not come along the lines of strictly collegiate effort. The col- 

 lege must be maintained as a college and will find its best 

 development and greatest usefulness along collegiate lines. 



The New England Fruit Show. 



The second show of this organization was an even greater 



success than that of 1909. The Board assisted the show by 



furnishing an expert apple packer from Oregon to demonstrate 



the best methods of box packing to those interested, and the 



