protect and promote the farming industry and the welfare of the
farmer. This organization differs in its form and in the extent of
service performed in the several states, due partly to the varying
importance of agriculture in the different states, and partly to
the varying success with which the people and their
representatives have dealt with the problem. In some of the states
there are departments of agriculture, equal in dignity and power
with the other main divisions of the government. In others
agricultural interests are placed in the hands of subordinate
boards, bureaus, or commissions. In some cases the officials in
charge of the organization, such as the commissioner of
agriculture, are elected directly by the people, while in others
they are appointed by the governor of the state or by the
legislature. Often the department is organized in numerous
branches with specialists at the head of each. Thus, there are
dairy commissioners, horticultural boards, livestock sanitary
boards, foresters, entomologists (specialists in insect life in
its relation to agriculture), and others, to look after every
aspect of farming. In a constantly decreasing number of states the
powers of the agricultural officers are slight and their work
ineffectual; but in others the organization is thorough and the
work efficiently done and of the greatest value to the state.

DUTIES OF STATE DEPARTMENTS OF AGRICULTURE

In general, state departments of agriculture have had two kinds of
duties: first, regulative and administrative duties, such as the
enforcement of laws relating to agriculture passed by the state
legislature, enforcing quarantine against diseased animals,
establishing standards for the grading of grain, making and