44 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4. 



For the coming year the law has been so amended that the 

 handHng of this matter will be greatly simplified both for the 

 societies and the Board. The societies, by the new law, are 

 required to fm'nish the Board with an estimate on or before 

 November 1 of the amount which they expect to offer in State 

 first premiums, and each society will be limited to $200. The 

 Board will then present this estimate to the Legislature, and 

 will reimburse the societies on the basis of the amount they 

 actually pay out, provided it does not exceed the maximum. 

 Fourteen societies have applied to the Board for bounty in 

 1918, the total amount applied for being $2,930. 



The new law will only be in operation, however, for one year, 

 as, owing to the passage of the anti-aid amendment to the 

 Constitution, direct payments of money to poultry societies 

 cannot be made after 1918. Your secretary feels, however, that 

 the principle of State prizes for the encouragement of poultry 

 breeding should be continued, and that it would be an injury 

 to the poultry business in this State to have it discontinued. 

 Nothing in the anti-aid amendment prevents the offering of prize 

 money by the State directly to individuals, and this method 

 should be followed in awarding poultry premium bounty. 



Boys' and Girls' Agricultural Club Work. 



The agricultural clubs have been carried on under the direc- 

 tion of Mr. George L. Farley, and the total enrollment has 

 reached 97,452 members. In addition to the supervisor of this 

 work there is now at the agricultural college an assistant 

 supervisor, a pig club agent, a poultry club agent and a home 

 economics and canning club agent. 



All parts of the State are showing a steadily increasing 

 interest in this work, and it was given a special impetus this 

 year by the campaign for greater food production carried on 

 by the State Public Safety Committee. 



The Brockton Fair Association this year increased the amount 

 given for furthering this work from $200 to $500. The Hamp- 

 shire, Franklin and Hampden Agricultural Society erected a 

 building costing $5,000, to be used as an exliibit hall for club 

 work. The Barnstable County Agricultural Society held a club 



