No. 4.] REPORT OF SECRETARY. xxxi 



volume. The tenth annual report of the Hatch Experiment 

 Station of the college is by law bound with the report of 

 the secretary of the Board of Agriculture in this volume. 



Returns of Societies. 

 These returns will be found printed on pages 601-630 of 

 this volume. A summary, contrasting the totals of 1895, 

 1896 and 1897, is printed on page 630 of this volume. 



Agricultural Directory. 

 A directory of the agricultural organizations of the Com- 

 monwealth, with officers for 1898, will be found printed on 

 pages 633-646 of this volume. 



Meetings or the Board. 

 The public winter meeting of the Board for lectures and 

 discussions was held at Taunton, Dec. 7, 8 and 9, 1897. 

 The lectures and discussions will be found printed on pages 

 17-169 of this volume. A special business meeting of the 

 Board was held at Taunton, Dec. 7, 1897, an account of 

 which will be found printed on pages 11-14. The annual 

 business meeting of the Board was held at the office of the 

 secretary, Jan. 11 and 12, 1898, and the minutes thereof, 

 etc., will be found printed on pages 173-222 of this volume. 



Changes in the Board. 

 During the past year death removed from the Board 

 Atkinson C. Varnum, Esq., of Lowell, who had represented 

 the Middlesex North Agricultural Society on the Board since 

 February, 1880. Mr. Francis Shaw of Wayland, who had 

 represented the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agri- 

 culture on the Board since February, 1895, resigned from 

 the Board during the year, as did also Mr. Charles E. Sea- 

 grave of Uxbridge, who had represented the Blackstone 

 Valley Agricultural Society on the Board since January, 

 1897. The following gentlemen retired from the Board at 

 the recent annual meeting because of the expiration of their 

 term of service : Wm. P. Brooks of the Hampshire Agri- 

 cultural Society, after three years of service ; H. G. Norton 

 of the Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society, after four 



