The eastern tent caterpillar, which is conspicuous by the tent it makes on 

 wild cherry and apple trees along roadsides, showed a further marked increase 

 in numbers throughout central and southern Ontario. Infestations were most com- 

 mon in the Parry Sound, Pembroke, Lake Huron, Lake Simcoe, Lindsay and 

 Tweed Districts, and in these areas the insect was found frequently on a variety of 

 hardwood species. 



Infestations of the jack-pine budworm in the Fort Frances District and in 

 south-western Ontario subsided in 1962. However, high population levels persisted 

 at several locations in the south-central part of the Kenora District. The largest 

 block of infestation occurred in jack-pine stands over an area of about 400 

 square miles. 



The birch skeletonizer again caused late summer browning to leaves of white 

 birch trees from Sault Ste. Marie to North Bay and throughout much of southern 

 Ontario. New areas of heavy infestation appeared in the southern part of the 

 Swastika District, and south of Lake Nipigon in the Port Arthur and Geraldton 

 Districts. Injury by this insect is spectacular in appearance but not serious to 

 the tree. 



The Dutch elm disease continued to increase in intensity throughout most 

 of southern Ontario, and extended its known distribution northward to North Bay. 



CONTROL 



Most operations in the direct control of injurious insects are conducted from 

 the ground with hand equipment in the pine, spruce and larch plantations of 

 southern Ontario. In 1961, some aerial spraying was started with a Stearman 

 aircraft to control the white-pine weevil in 30-year-old white pine plantations. In 

 1962, an additional 400 acres of white pine in the Kirkwood Management Unit 

 were sprayed with DDT using a Bell G2 helicopter. In total, over 8,000 acres of 

 white pine plantations and natural stands were treated by spraying and leader 

 clipping to control the white-pine weevil. 



Spraying for control of various species of sawflies such as the red-headed pine 

 sawfly, the European pine sawfly, the yellow-headed spruce sawfly and the larch 

 sawfly, covered a total of 2,700 acres. An additional 300 acres were treated 

 chemically for control of the pine tip moth and certain weevils. 



More than 1,300 acres of new plantations were treated with aldrin to control 

 white grubs, and 400 acres of plantations were treated chemically for control of 

 mice. 



Direct control of tree diseases was confined to control of white-pine blister 

 rust. The chemical 2, 4, 5-T is used to eradicate the alternate host plants, wild 

 currants and gooseberries, from the immediate vicinity of the pines. Each year a 

 portion of a long-term programme is completed, and in 1962 approximately 9,700 

 acres were protected against blister rust in important pine producing areas in the 

 Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Pembroke, Lindsay, Tweed and Kemptville Districts. 



Radio Communications 



Due to the continued expansion of V.H.F. radiotelephone facilities throughout 

 the province, which provide "person-to-person" unrecorded communications, 

 traffic totals of recorded message were slightly down. A decline of 0.1 per cent 

 in the message count and 4.7 per cent in message word content was encountered 

 even though 86,282 messages were handled, totalling 2,163,824 words. Five new 

 radio stations were added to the ground system; they were located at Marne Lake, 



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