No. 4.] REPORT OF SECRETARY. xv 



room now used as the private office of the Board and its secre- 

 tary be taken for this purpose. This request was apparently 

 granted, and the suggestion approved by the Governor's Coun- 

 cil, but it has developed that their action was not definite and 

 the matter is still in abeyance. Should this room be taken from 

 us we will be left without a room for committee meetings, the 

 secretary will be obliged to discuss all business, no matter what 

 its nature, in the hearing of any one who may be in the office. 

 Room 136 will be unduly crowded and the work of the Board 

 greatly hampered. This proposition came upon us without warn- 

 ing. The visit of inspection to the office came at a time while 

 the winter meeting, at Barre, was in progress, and through lack 

 of explanation the rights of the Board were, perhaps, not suffi- 

 ciently considered. As the force regularly' at work in this office 

 is in excess of that in the office of the chief of the Cattle Bureau 

 of the State Board of Agriculture, and as his receiving the room 

 now used as our prh'ate office, in addition to his present quar- 

 ters, would give him more floor space than would be left to the 

 Board, and also a private office, while the Board would have no 

 place usable for that purpose, the injustice of the proposal is 

 evident. I recommend that the matter be referred to the 

 executive committee, with power to act. 



Wild Deer. 



The great damage done to agriculture by wild deer continues 

 in about the same measure as in the past, their greatest nlenace 

 being to young orchards, which some farmers find it impossible 

 to bring into bearing age because of these creatures. They are 

 also very troublesome in nurseries and market gardens in some 

 sections, while the damage done by them to the regular farm 

 crops and farmers' gardens is of great importance. The tend- 

 ency of the selectmen and arbitrators who fix the damage done 

 by deer is to place it too low, especially when fruit trees are in 

 question. Therefore it would be desirable if these creatures 

 could be entirely eliminated. This seems impossible, and the 

 present law, allowing the farmer to shoot them, when doing 

 damage to his crops, with any weapon, and giving a short open 

 season, with the shotgun,' in the fi\'e western counties, is fairly 

 satisfactory. Repeal or change will probably be sought, on 



