X BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



tained. Onions were a light crop, but brought good prices. 

 Tobacco was a very good crop, with prices, as far as known, 

 about normal. Cranberries were a light to medium crop, 

 with the berries small. Poultry and eggs brought good prices 

 throughout the year, and the stock of poultry kept on farms 

 and by small poultry keepers was generally increased. 



Legislation of 1910. 



The recommendations of this Board for legislation fared 

 well at the last session, taken as a whole. As a result of the 

 work of the year a law was enacted relieving the milk pro- 

 ducer from prosecution when he innocently has below-stand- 

 ard milk in his possession, and giving him twenty days in 

 which to bring his milk to the legal standard, thus protect- 

 ing the consumer as well. With the standard law in force, 

 so far as milk in the hands of dealers is concerned, the pub- 

 lic is protected against possible fraud on their part and the 

 farmer against the unfair competition resulting from such 

 fraud. The law as at present relieves the innocent milk 

 producer of the element of criminality that formed so strong 

 an objection to the milk standard law as previously inter- 

 preted and enforced. It has accomplished all that was 

 hoped for it, and seems to offer a reasonable solution of the 

 problem which has proved so vexatious in recent years. Since 

 its enactment no milk producer has been convicted of selling 

 below-standard milk, and the interests of the public have not 

 suffered, as the farmers have sho^vll themselves ready to bring 

 their milk to the standard in every case where they have been 

 notiffed that it is below standard. 



Other legislation relative to agricultural interests, recom- 

 mended by this Board and enacted into law, includes the fol- 

 lowing: an act relative to wild deer, an act relative to State 

 inspection of apiaries, an act providing for a special report 

 on game birds, and an act making an appropriation for the 

 encouragement of orcharding. These will be taken up under 

 their proper headings and need no further comment at this 

 time. 



