CHAPTER XX

METHODS OF TRADE

The brokers or commission men doing business in any one of these markets usually form an association called a board of trade, chamber of commerce or similar title for the purpose of assisting each other in the pursuit of common ends. The result has been uniformity of methods and charges; but above all in importance, perhaps, has been the definition of classes and grades of the products placed on sale. The tendency is for the associations in the different cities to adopt uniform rules for the grading of products, so that No. 2 red winter wheat may mean the same thing in Toledo and New York; that the quotation on primebeef may refer to the same quality of cattle in Pittsburgh as it does in Chicago; and that No. 1 Timothy hay in Baltimore and St. Louis may be alike. While the tendency is towards uniformity, much yet remains to be accomplished. The shipper must be on his guard lest he suffer loss through the variations in the classification or variations in their interpretations on the different markets.

There has grown up around these markets some agency which stands as a disinterested party between seller and buyer impartially determining the weight and in some cases the quality of the object under negotiation. The State of Illinois employs agents who inspect all cars of grain consigned to the Chicago market. These inspectors determine the kind, grade and weight of the grain in each car. The car is then delivered under seal to the purchaser. If either seller or buyer is dissatisfied with the inspectors decision he may, by complying with certain regulations, have this decision reviewed by a higher authority. The decision of thishigher authority is final and must be accepted by both parties. Brokers selling grain in carload lots ship the cars subject to the weight and grade as determined by the inspector at Chicago. Grain of a specific grade may thus be bought in Chicago or other great grain markets with almost perfect security as to weight and quality by persons living in any part of this or any other country. At Elgin the quality of butter is determined by a committee appointed by the Board of Trade from its own members. In the live stock markets, the stock yards company, in addition to furnishing yards, shelter, food and water, acts as agent between seller and buyer in determining the weight of the animals. The purchaser or his agent must determine for himself the quality of the animals he buys.

GRAIN MARKETS

The Chicago and St. Paul Boards of Trade and the New York Produce Exchange are the three great agencies for dealing in grain in the United States.Buffalo, Duluth, Baltimore and Philadelphia are also important markets. Adjuncts to these markets are the great terminal elevators capable of holding almost indefinitely enormous quantities of wheat and other grain. On the Pacific Coast all the wheat is handled in the bags, as is the custom in the other markets of the world. Canada and the United States alone have recognized the principle that wheat and other grains will run like water, which has been a prime factor in their competition with other nations.

Country elevators charge two cents a bushel for storage during the first 15 days and 1/2 cent for each additional 15 days. The charge for storage at terminal elevators for the first 15 days is 3/4 cent. The farmer may thus store his wheat in an elevator in place of his farm if he chooses so to do, although the wheat he thus puts in storage may have been made into flour and consumed before he sells it. This may be looked upon as a sort of intermediary stepbetween storing wheat in ones own granary and dealing in futures.

The country shipper pays 1/2 cent a bushel commission for the sale of wheat. There is also a charge for inspection and insurance, and, in case there is an advance payment, for interest. After five days there are storage charges. This has given rise to the expression, gilt edge, regular and short receipts, depending upon the length of time there remains before storage charges must be paid. Every market has a grade known as contract grade, meaning the quality that must be furnished when wheat or other grain is sold without specifying the grade. In Chicago No. 2 red winter wheat is the contract grade. Where grain is sold or purchased by a broker, the brokerage is usually 1/8 cent per bushel.

HAY MARKETS

At least twenty cities have adopted the rules of the National hay association as to classes and grades of hay and straw. The southern states constitute an important marketfor the hay of the north central states, while Boston, New York and the mining towns of Pennsylvania are important markets for the northeastern states. The size of bale varies from 75 to 200 pounds. Small bales of 100 pounds each are preferred in Baltimore, medium bales of 110 to 140 pounds in Philadelphia, while New York and Boston usually deal in the larger bales. The commission charges vary from 50 cents to $1 per car. In New York, $1 pays all charges. At Chicago, $3 per car has been charged for the inspection, divided equally between seller and buyer.

PRODUCE MARKETS

Every town of any consequence has its produce market. The South Water street district in Chicago and the West Washington street market in New York are noted for their extent and variety. There are also many special markets for certain classes of produce. Thus Elgin, Chicago and New York have butter exchanges. Wisconsin, Utica, Watertown and Cuba (New York)maintain exchanges where cheese is placed on sale each week during the manufacturing season. There is also a board of trade for cheese in New York City. The prices quoted upon these exchanges are made the basis of many transactions between buyer and seller, who never enter these markets. Not only do buyers and sellers agree to abide by the quotations of one or the other of these markets, but the quotations are also used as a basis of settlement for milk furnished the creamery or factory. These agencies are thus impartial arbiters in countless financial transactions.

The rate of commission varies in different markets and for different products. Generally, however, produce is handled on a 5% basis, but for individual products which are especially bulky and difficult to handle, such as cabbage, 10% may be charged. In some cases commission is by quantity instead of on a percentage basis. Thus for potatoes the commission is sometimes 10% and in other cases 4 or 5 cents a bushel.

LIVE STOCK MARKETS

While poultry and game, as well as the carcasses of the smaller animals, may be handled through the produce markets, the large animals require separate facilities. The United States is noted for its large live stock markets and for the perfection and size of the packing houses which have grown up about them. The most famous example of these combined agencies is to be found at Chicago, but important live stock markets are also maintained at St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and more recently Fort Worth, Texas. The commission charges vary from 50 cents to $1 per head for cattle and from 10 to 25 cents per head for calves, sheep and hogs. In some markets, the commission on hogs is 2% of the gross returns. When located within 150 miles of a central market, it is customary to allow 50 cents per hundred pounds for cattle and 40 cents for hogs to cover shrinkage, and cost of freight, yardage, food, bedding and commission. Itis possible for an owner to sell his own live stock in these yards, but the commission man, because of his superior knowledge of existing trade conditions, is almost universally employed. Firms which handle cattle, sheep and hogs seldom sell horses. Although handled by different commission firms, important horse markets are maintained at Chicago and Buffalo immediately adjacent to the market for meat animals. In New York the horse markets are in a different section of the city, that for draft and common work horses on one street, while the American Horse Exchange, located at another point, handles high-class light horses. The usual custom is to sell horses at auction, although they may be purchased at private treaty. In whatever manner purchased, it is essential to understand precisely the character of the guarantee.

COTTON, WOOL AND TOBACCO MARKETS

Because of their higher value per pound and the ease with which they can be stored, cotton, wool and tobacco are dealt in somewhatdifferently than other farm products. The two great cotton exchanges are located at New Orleans and New York, the quotations on these markets controlling the financial transactions in cotton throughout the world. The principal wool markets are Boston, New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis. The principal tobacco markets are at Richmond and Danville, Va., Durham, N. C., and Louisville, Ky.

Mr. C. W. Wald, graduate of the Ohio State University, farmer, formerly assistant horticulturist of the New Hampshire and Ohio Experiment Stations, is shown above in one of the New Carlisle (Ohio) greenhouses, in which three crops of lettuce occur in one bed. One crop is ready to cut, another planted and a third in pots between the other plants, to be planted in another bed when large enough. The net returns from a quarter of an acre under glass has been greater than from 160 acres devoted to general farm crops.

C. W. Zuck & Sons, Erie, Pa. One son was a student in agriculture at the Pennsylvania State College. Father and three sons, beginning six years ago with a run-down farm of 55 acres, have built an acre of glass and a heating plant of 260 horsepower. During the period they have spent $5,000 on the place and at the end of season they will have very nearly cleared their improvements. Tell the youthful readers of your book to get as much education as possible and then go in partnership with their fathers or brothers. If they do, success will be theirs.

The country shipper or the young farmer wishing to place his products in the ordinary channels of trade must consider and determine among other things the following: What cities have favorable markets for his products; choose some commission man or broker to handle them; calculate the expenses for freight, commission and other customary items; familiarize himself with the rules for grading his products in the market or markets under consideration; and determine what agency there may be for protecting him as to the weight and quality when sales are effected. Whenever practicable, a visit to the market in question anda personal study of the conditions under which selling is done will be wise. Having done so, and perhaps having made a number of sales through these usual channels of trade, he will be in a position to consider whether he may organize to advantage some more direct method of getting his products to the consumer.

CHAPTER XXLAWS AFFECTING LAND ANDLABOR

Thus far property has been treated as invested capital upon which interest must be charged in determining the labor income. Labor, likewise, has been considered principally in its effect upon profits. Society has thrown around the transfer of property and the use of labor certain restraints for the protection of all individuals.

Through the ages certain procedures have become fixed by custom. These legal practices are largely the inheritance of old Roman law and are usually known as common law. Various legislative bodies having jurisdiction enact from time to time other laws. This body of enacted law is called statute law and is much more variable than common law. In the briefest possible manner it is the purpose here to state a few of the principles and applications of thelaw, chiefly the common law, as it affects the farmer in acquiring or disposing of his property and in his dealings with labor.

PROPERTY

Property may be defined as anything which is a subject of ownership. It possesses the characteristics of being acquired, held, sold, willed or inherited and is of two kinds: (1) Real property, real estate or realty; (2) chattels or personal property. These two kinds of property are subject to quite distinct legal practices. In general, real estate consists of land, things attached to it, such as trees, buildings, fences and certain rights and profits arising out of or annexed to the land. The term land as ordinarily used includes all these things, so that when land is said to be worth so much an acre it includes all fixtures. Ponds and streams are, under this definition, land. The land not only has surface dimensions, but extends upward indefinitely and down to the center of the earth, and hence includes a right to ores, coal, oil, gas or other materials whatsoever.

An article may, however, be real property or personal property depending upon circumstances. Thus a tree growing on the land is real property, but when cut into cord wood becomes personal property. New fence posts ready for use are personal property. When set in the ground they become real estate. Just what goes with a farm or what are fixtures is frequently a subject for legal determination.

FIXTURES

The general rule is that fixtures are any chattels which have become substantially and permanently annexed to the land or to buildings or other things which are clearly a part of the land.[D]The annexation may, however, be purely theoretical, since the keys to the house or barn, which may be in the owners pocket, are real estate. One rule concerning fixtures is that they must be so annexed that they cannot be severed without injuring the freehold. The intention of the party making the annexation also oftendetermines, since if the article is annexed with the intention of making it permanent, it then becomes a part of the land. Among the things held to be fixtures, and therefore a part of the land, are: (1) All buildings and everything which is a part of any building, such as doors, blinds, keys, etc.; (2) fence materials which have been once used and are piled up to be used again are a part of the land, but new fence material not yet used is personal property. (3) Growing crops are real property. They go to the purchaser of the land unless specially reserved in the deed. A verbal agreement is not sufficient. (4) Trees, if blown down or cut down and still lying where they fell, are real property; if cut or corded up for sale they become personal property. (5) All manure made on the farm is real estate and passes with the land. (6) All the ordinary portable machines and tools are considered personal property, but certain machines held to be of permanent use upon the land are real estate. Among the things which courts have held to go with the land arecotton gins, copper kettles encased in brick and mortar for cooking food for hogs, cider mills, pumps, water pipes bringing water from distant springs. In general, motive power machinery and the shafting go with the land, but the machinery impelled may or may not, depending upon the way it is annexed. (7) If stones have been quarried for the purpose of using upon the farm, they go with the farm, but if quarried for sale they are personal property.

CONTRACTS

The difference between personal property and real property may be indicated by considering the essential features of a contract. A contract is an agreement between two or more persons. The foundation rule concerning a contract is that every man must fulfill every agreement he makes. An ethical practice grows out of this legal rule which, if strictly adhered to, will save much embarrassment, viz., make but few promises and always keep your engagements.

There are seven requirements generallynecessary to a valid contract. (1) Possibility. The thing to be done must be possible. (2) Legality. It must not be forbidden by law. (3) Proper parties. The parties to a contract must be competent. Contracts with idiots or drunken persons are not binding. Some contracts with minors are not binding, although contracts for the necessities of life are. (4) Mutual assent. A proposition not assented to by both parties is not binding on either. (5) Valid consideration. A man is not regarded as injured by the breaking of a promise for which he has paid, or is to pay, nothing. (6) Fraud or deceit. A contract obtained by fraud is void as against the party using the fraud, but may be enforced by the innocent party if he sees fit. (7) Written contracts. Here comes the most important difference between real and personal property. Real property can only be conveyed by a written instrument, properly executed and recorded, while personal property passes by mere possession. Contracts relating to the sale of real estate are not binding unless in writing, while verbalcontracts are sufficient for personal property if accompanied by payment of a part of the purchase price or the acceptance of the goods. For amounts under $50 verbal agreement in itself is binding.

TRANSFER OF REAL ESTATE

The purchaser should require of the seller evidence that the title to the land is straight and clear; if not, exactly what the defects are. This is done through an abstract of title, which should be prepared by a competent lawyer. This is not an official document, and its value depends largely upon the ability and watchfulness of the party making the abstract. Ownership of land is conveyed by means of a deed. A deed is an instrument conveying at least a life interest in the land. Care should be taken that the deed contains the essential parts and that it is properly executed.

DEEDS

Deeds are of two kinds: Quit claim deeds, which convey all the rights, title and interestwhich the seller has in the land, but does not warrant the title; and warranty deeds, which, in addition to what a quit claim does, contain covenants which agree that the seller and his heirs, etc., shall warrant and defend the title to the purchaser against the lawful claims of all persons.

THE REQUISITES OF A DEED

The requisites of a deed are: The parties to the deed, the consideration, the description; and with a warranty deed, the covenants. The seller must be of full age, sound mind and if married his wife should always join in the deed. Her name should appear following his at the beginning of the instrument. She should sign and acknowledge the deed, and the certificate of acknowledgment should state that she is the wife of the seller. If the seller is a married woman, her husband does not need to join in the sale of her own property. It is customary to state the consideration upon which the deed is given, but this is not necessary, nor will a falsestatement as to the amount paid invalidate the deed.

The description of the land conveyed should be as minute and careful as possible, and preferably in the exact language of former deeds. In case former description is in error, it should be referred to and correct description given. Where land is conveyed by metes and bounds, this description governs, although it may not convey the number of acres of land stated. In describing boundaries the location of monuments takes precedence of distances mentioned.

EXECUTION OF THE DEED

A deed must be signed, witnessed, acknowledged, delivered and recorded. In some states deeds must be sealed, but in other states the law has dispensed with this formality. Witnesses to deeds are not required in all states. Some states require one, but usually two witnesses are required. The parties signing the deed are required to appear before an official designated bystatute, usually any magistrate, justice or notary public, and acknowledge the same to be his or her free act and deed.

A deed has no effect until delivered, and should be immediately recorded by the purchaser. Generally an unrecorded deed is not good as against a subsequent purchaser in good faith. It is well to note that the laws relating to the transfer of land are those of the place where the land lies and not necessarily those of the place where the deed is made.

METHOD OF LAYING OUT PUBLIC LANDS

The public lands of the United States are, whenever practicable, laid out into townships each six miles square, as near as may be, whose sides run due north and south and east and west. The townships are laid off north and south of a base line which is a parallel of latitude, and are numbered north and south from the base line: Thus, T. 3 S., means Township No. 3 south from the base line. Each row of townships runningnorth and south is called a range, and is numbered east or west of the principal meridian: Thus, R. 2 E., means Range 2 east of the given meridian.

The townships are then laid off into sections or square miles of 640 acres, as near as may be, and these are numbered, beginning always at the northeast section, as shown in the accompanying diagram.

Each quarter section is referred to as the northeast or southwest quarter of the section, and each forty acres as the northwest or southeast quarter of a particular quarter. For example, an eighty-acre field may be referred to as the west half of the southwestquarter of Section 3, Township 5 North, Range 3, west of ——. Base line and meridian, or in some cases merely the meridian is mentioned.

The curvature of the earths surface makes it impossible for the sides of townships to be truly north and south and at the same time six miles square. The excesses and the deficiencies due to the convergency of meridians and the curvature of the earth are by law added to or deducted from the western and northern ranges of sections and half sections of the townships. While the above has been the rule in laying out public lands for more than a century, there are many exceptions, due to many causes.

In the older settled sections the land was laid out in lots, often in a very irregular manner, although in some cases within a given tract the area was more or less regular. In these cases, the land must be described minutely and carefully by metes and bounds. In some of the southern and western states, also, where there were Spanish grants, much irregularity in the surveysexists. Over much of the north Central states this rectangular system of laying out lands obtains and has worked well in most respects.

THE LANDLORD AND TENANT

Leases of real estate follow the same procedure as deeds, except that a verbal lease, if for a term of not to exceed one year, is valid in most states. A written lease should be carefully drawn, because, according to common law, there are few things implied in a lease that are not stated. Definite statement concerning repairs and insurance is desirable. A tenant should also acquaint himself with the law of the state concerning the surrender of the farm upon the expiration of his term.

It is the duty of the tenant not only to guard the property, but to conduct the farm in a husbandlike manner. Unless otherwise stated in the contract, the tenant must pursue those methods of husbandry which are customary in the vicinity.

THE RELATION OF THE FARMER TO HISWORKMEN

THE RELATION OF THE FARMER TO HIS

WORKMEN

The requirements of a valid contract, as previously stated, control most of the relations which the employer has with his employees. Contracts for labor, unless for more than one year, need not be in writing. If, however, the service to be rendered is unusual, the agreement should be reduced to writing, because, in the absence of specific agreement, the law assumes that customary service and wages are implied.

Like all other employers of labor the farmer is under obligation to protect his workman from injury. He must not subject them to unusual and unreasonable risks. He must hire workmen suited to the employment. For example, if he employs a young boy to drive a fractious horse, he would be liable for any injury that might occur. In like manner, he must exercise proper care concerning the safety of the machinery placed in the hands of his workmen. He must keep his premises in a safecondition and must not expose his workmen to risks not incident to the employment for which they are hired.

The farmer is liable in damages for the acts of his workmen which are within the scope of their employment, although the authority may not have been expressly conferred. He who acts by another acts himself. In case one is sued for the acts of his employee, the burden is upon him to prove that the act of the workman was without authority, expressed or implied.

[D]Haighs Manual of Law, p. 69.

Haighs Manual of Law, p. 69.

CHAPTER XXIRURAL LEGISLATION

Various laws have been enacted by federal and state legislatures for the better protection of producer and consumer. Much of this legislation affects in a very special way the interests of the farmer. Not infrequently, in fact, generally, the state department of agriculture has more or less direct jurisdiction over their enforcement. State departments of agriculture usually publish a collection of the laws of this character. These laws vary greatly in the different states and only the most general outline, as they affect the interests of the farmer, can be given here. Persons can inform themselves as to the details as enforced in a given state by applying to the state secretary of agriculture.

A number of these acts affect interstate commerce, concerning which the United States Constitution says: No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay anyimpost or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws. By a series of judicial decisions it has been determined that a State has a right to enforce laws affecting interstate commerce when traffic in the articles thus modified or prohibited affects the public welfare. When it is necessary to have a police regulation to prevent fraud in the traffic of an article or for the purpose of guarding the public health or morals, police laws, so called, may be enacted and enforced. Around this general question there has waged a bitter controversy which has occupied some of the best legal minds and is one involving some difficulty.

FERTILIZER CONTROL

One of the first of the control measures to be enacted, and the one which has been most universally adopted by the several states, is the law requiring the manufacturer and dealer in commercial fertilizers to guarantee the percentage of the so-called essentialfertilizing elements—nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium—contained in each bag of fertilizer offered for sale. Subsequent control laws have been modeled more or less closely after this law. Hence a description of the operation and execution of it will serve for all.

The execution of this law is usually under the immediate supervision of the state secretary of agriculture, while the necessary chemical analyses are made by the state experiment station. In some states the enforcement of the law is in charge of the state experiment station, while in others the state department of agriculture has its own laboratories or employs a private chemist. It is, however, becoming a more and more settled policy to place all police regulations in charge of the state department of agriculture, while at the same time the chemical analyses and other scientific and technological inquiries are made at the state experiment station.

In order to facilitate the taking of samples and in order to raise funds for theexecution of the law, the manufacturer is required to take out a license and to make a statement of the brands of fertilizers which he will place upon the market in the given state during the given season.

During the spring and fall season agents traverse the state and sample the bags of fertilizers as found on sale by local merchants. The samples are sent by number under seal to the designated chemist, while at the same time the agent transmits to the state officer in charge of the enforcement of the law the necessary information concerning these samples. Upon the receipt of the analysis made by the chemist, who has had no knowledge of the origin of the sample, the state officer compares them with the guarantee of the manufacturer, and if he finds it necessary enters legal complaint. While these laws have been in force for many years in some states and in many states for some years, prosecution has seldom been found necessary. The honest manufacturer is protected from dishonest competition, and the dishonest manufacturer, if there be such,cannot afford the publicity which noncompliance with the law would entail.

It has been customary to publish, with the results of analysis, also an estimate of the commercial value per ton of each brand of fertilizer. This estimated commercial value is obtained by multiplying the pounds of each element or combinations of the element in a ton by a value per pound. To the value of the fertilizer thus obtained is added something for cost of mixing, bagging and freight, and something for profit. The price per pound given to each element or combinations of the elements is based upon the commercial value of the element when purchased in raw materials. The price for each year is usually determined by a conference of those in control of the execution of the law in the several states for certain groups of states. As a matter of fact, the price varies little from year to year.

The published figures, therefore, constitute a table of comparative commercial values as determined by the most expertknowledge. While not constituting a statement of absolute commercial value for any given locality, they do enable the purchaser to determine whether the price quoted on a given brand of fertilizer is within reason. Persons who are unacquainted with the principles controlling the use of commercial fertilizers may, however, be led to believe that the price of the fertilizer is an indication of its value for the production of a given crop. As is well known to all students of the subject, there is no necessary relation between the commercial value of a fertilizer and the fitness of its formula for a given soil and crop. For these and other reasons, the publication of tables of commercial value has been strongly opposed by some manufacturers, and in certain states the custom has been discontinued. While granting that tables of commercial value are subject to misinterpretation, it is perhaps fair to say that such tables have been of most benefit, and, moreover, have been of great value to those who were most likely to misinterpret them.

It has been customary in most states to make analyses only of mixed fertilizers. Thus such raw materials as nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, dried blood, bone meal, rock phosphate, tankage, muriate of potash, sulphate of potash, have not been brought under the operation of the law. If one wishes to purchase nitrate of soda, muriate of potash and tankage with the intention of mixing them according to a formula of his own, he may not find any protection in his state. However, these products can be obtained through reputable dealers who will willingly guarantee the contents. In case of doubt, the purchaser may secure an analysis by his state experiment station at a moderate cost.

The law requires that there shall be affixed to every package of fertilizer offered for sale a statement about as follows:

The minimum per centum of each of the following constituents which may be contained therein:(a) Nitrogen.(b) Soluble, available and total phosphoric acid, except in cases of undissolved bone, basic slag phosphate,wood ashes, unheated phosphate rock, garbage tankage and pulverized natural manures, when the minimum per centum of total phosphoric acid may be substituted. This latter applies only in those states where raw materials are subject to inspection.(c) Potash soluble in distilled water.

The minimum per centum of each of the following constituents which may be contained therein:

(a) Nitrogen.

(b) Soluble, available and total phosphoric acid, except in cases of undissolved bone, basic slag phosphate,wood ashes, unheated phosphate rock, garbage tankage and pulverized natural manures, when the minimum per centum of total phosphoric acid may be substituted. This latter applies only in those states where raw materials are subject to inspection.

It is possible to comply with the law and yet state the guarantee upon each bag of fertilizer in such a manner as to mislead the uninformed. It is not the purpose of this book to deal with such technical details, but if the purchaser of commercial fertilizers is not already well acquainted with fertilizer terms, he should secure an elementary textbook on the subject or write to his state experiment station for a bulletin discussing them.

FEEDING STUFF CONTROL

The law controlling the sale of stock foods is of more recent origin than the fertilizer control act and has not been so universally adopted up to the present time. The necessity for such a law arises from the growing use as stock foods of various by-products inthe manufacture of liquors, starch, glucose, sugar, cottonseed and linseed oils and breakfast foods. Various mixtures, varying widely in chemical composition, especially in protein and crude fiber, were placed upon the market. In some instances mixtures were grossly adulterated with such things as oat hulls and ground corn cobs.

The adoption of this law by certain states has served to make other states the dumping ground for inferior stock foods, thus increasing the necessity for similar protection. The law does not apply to the ordinary grains produced by farmers or to the usual by-products of millers.

SEED CONTROL

From time immemorial it has been the universal custom of seedsmen to disclaim all responsibility for the purity and germinating power of their seeds. But as the importance of good seed—good in hereditary power, good in germination, good in its freedom from adulteration, good in its absence of noxious weed seed—has become betterunderstood demand for some method of control has arisen. In at least one state there is a seed-control law modeled quite closely after the fertilizer-control law. However, the usual method of protection consists in purchasing by sample or the insistence of a guarantee, with a subsequent analysis of a sample of the purchased seed.

The germinating power and purity of seed can be determined cheaply by an expert within from five to twenty days, depending upon the species. The federal government has a division of seed control in its Department of Agriculture at Washington, D. C. Any person may send a sample of seed to this division and have its purity and germinating power determined, and in some of the states the experiment station will perform similar services without charge. Clover, alfalfa, grass and other small seeds should always be purchased subject to such inspection, unless the purchaser is prepared to make his own inspection, which a very little training makes possible.

NURSERY INSPECTION

There is no national law concerning the importation of insect-infested or diseased plant stock.

Several of the states have passed both state and interstate regulations concerning the sale of nursery stock. The insects usually legislated against are San Jose scale, gypsy moth and brown-tail moth, while the diseases usually interdicted are yellows, black knot, peach rosette, and pear blight.

The enforcement of the law is usually placed in charge of a person having special knowledge of economic insects and fungous diseases. In addition to these police regulations this officer may, by various means, attempt to bring into practice methods calculated to eradicate or, at least, lessen the severity of existing attacks.

Commerce in vinegar, dried fruits, insecticides and fungicides is also regulated in some states.

DAIRY, FOOD AND DRUG INSPECTION

An adequate discussion of the rise anddevelopment of the control in the sale of dairy and food products would require a chapter by itself, if not an entire volume. Suffice it to say here that the laws on this general subject have acquired an importance in many ways quite beyond that of any of the other control measures discussed in this chapter. In the extent of funds handled, the number of agents employed and the public interest incited, the office of dairy and food commissioner outranks any other control agency. In some states the office is an elective one, and the questions with which the office has to deal become a part of the state political campaign.

The importance of the inspection of dairy and food products grows out of the fact that not only is the consumer, hence all the world, interested, but the execution of these laws touch large commercial interests. Not only are meat packers, distillers and brewers deeply interested, but the wholesale and retail grocers and, more recently, the manufacturing and prescribing druggists, are vitally concerned.

Not many years ago the inspection of dairy products, particularly control of the traffic in oleomargarine, was the chief function of this office. To-day the enforcement of laws concerning pure foods, liquor and drugs is of much greater importance.

Interstate commerce in oleomargarine is now regulated through the enactment of an internal revenue law requiring a tax of ten cents a pound on colored oleomargarine and one-fourth of a cent a pound on uncolored oleomargarine and, further, by prescribing the character of package and method of marking all oleomargarine entering into interstate commerce. State agencies are charged with the duty of requiring the compliance of local dealers and restaurateurs with the general features of the federal law. Some states, however, prohibit entirely the sale of colored oleomargarine within the state.

PURITY IN DAIRY PRODUCTS

Attempts to define what is pure milk, cream, butter or cheese have been fraughtwith much difficulty. Thus, for example, legal definitions of pure milk have resulted in some cows giving illegal milk. In some instances the law has declared simply that whole milk is milk from which no cream has been removed; in others, the minimum amount of butter fat has been prescribed; in still others, the minimum amount of total solids containing a minimum proportion of butter fat has been made the basis of legal milk. In like manner full cream cheese has been defined as cheese made from whole milk or from milk from which only a given amount of cream has been removed, while in other instances the minimum amount of butter fat which full cream cheese may contain is prescribed. The wide variation in the amount of butter fat carried by cream has caused much jocular comment and some serious discussion as to what is cream.

While it is not feasible to indicate the laws for the several states, the ruling of the federal government as to what constitutes purity in dairy products under the national food and drug act may be accepted as a generalguide. A circular giving the required information may be secured by addressing the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.

LIVE STOCK SANITATION

The control of contagious diseases in domestic animals and the inspection of meat products have been the chief work of the Bureau of Animal Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture since its establishment.

The bureau inspects all imported live animals and under certain conditions will inspect live animals intended for exportation. It inspects all meat products intended for export. Its inspection of meats intended for interstate commerce is less rigid than that exported. Meats sold within the state in which they are slaughtered cannot be required by the federal government to undergo inspection. It thus happens that the people of the several states enjoy less protection in the consumption of meat than the foreign purchaser of American meats unlessthere is a state meat inspection law. However, it is becoming more and more the custom for the large packers to have all their products inspected without regard to their destination. The meats slaughtered in the locality in which they are consumed are the ones that receive the least supervision.

The federal government has been especially active and efficient in the prevention of interstate commerce in cattle suffering with Texas fever, and sheep attacked with scab and foot rot. Through the agency of the bureau dipping tanks have been provided in all the great live stock markets for the disinfection of cattle and sheep when needed.

Several of the states have laws controlling the importation of diseased animals from other states and the transfer of them within the state. The following are the diseases most commonly mentioned in the laws of the several states: Anthrax, black quarter, hog cholera, swine plague, rabies, glanders and tuberculosis. The law is generally enforced by a state veterinarian, whose acts are supervisedeither by a state live stock commission or the state secretary of agriculture or these two agencies acting conjointly.

Perhaps the disease which has required the greatest amount of attention in the several states is tuberculosis in milch cows. It is customary for this office to apply the tuberculin test, free of charge, under certain stipulations, to any herd upon the request of the owner and to supervise the slaughter and disposition of the reacting animals. In some states the owner is indemnified in part or in whole for his loss. The amount of indemnity as well as the general features of the law concerning the control of tuberculosis in domestic animals has been the subject of much controversy and cannot be said to have reached an altogether satisfactory solution in most states.

The young farmer should clearly understand that under no circumstances can he afford to have a tuberculous animal in his herd. The contact of a diseased animal with other animals of the herd is certain to entail a greater loss than the destruction ofthe diseased animal. The farmer must in his own interest rear healthy animals whether or not it is necessary for the protection of the consumer.

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