30 .... P-D- 123. 



gypsy egg masses, our inspectors would immediately discontinue the exam- 

 ination until such time as the nurseryman infonned us that he had re-inspected 

 his stock and believed it to be clean. From the time our inspection showed 

 the nursery to be infested until a certificate was issued stating that the stock 

 was clean, all shipments destined to points outside the gypsy moth area were 

 refused by the Federal inspectors. This caused some delay in shipments and 

 a temporary hardship to some of the nurserymen, but it is hoped that they 

 will profit by their experience and another year the nurseries will be cleaned 

 earlier and more thoroughly. 



Considerable attention is being paid to the property immediately adjacent 

 to nursery stock. This must be kept free from insects and diseases so as to 

 protect the nursery from outside infestations. Infested property adjacent 

 to nursery stock must be properly taken care of by the property owner or the 

 State will assume the responsibility and charge the same to the owner. 



Numerous calls for inspections of gardens and orchards Avere received 

 and responded to, and an occasional inspection of an insect outbreak on an 

 estate. These were of minor importance with the exception of an infestation 

 of the European pine shoot moth in Brookline. The pines are not very 

 numerous in this particular locality and it is hoped that the infestation can 

 be wiped out next year. 



A total of 186 nurseries were inspected and 283 agents' licenses granted. 

 Both of these figures show an increase over any previous year. 



European Corn Borer. 



The European com borer which was first discovered in this countiy in 1917 

 is now conceded to be a pest of major importance. This department has 

 spent considerable time in trying to bring before the people, especially those 

 in the corn-growing states, the possibilities of damage and losses, should this 

 insect reach them. Larger Federal appropriations have been sought, but 

 unsuccessfully, in order to carry on a more intensive campaign. Such an 

 intensive campaign is especially important here in New England where we 

 have a two-brooded insect for it can readily be seen that if this insect becomes 

 established in the corn belt, it will be far more serious than the single- 

 brooded corn borer which at the present time occurs in New York, Ohio and 

 Canada. 



We have continued our cooperation with the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 

 in carrying out the quarantine relative to the shipments of corn and broom- 

 corn, including all parts of the stalk, celery, green beans in the pod, beets with 

 tops, spinach, rhubarb, oat and rye straw as such or when used for packing, 

 cut fiowers or entire plants of chrysanthemum, aster, cosmos, zinnia, holly- 

 hock, and cut floAvers or entire plants of gladiolus and dahlia, except the 

 bulbs thereof, without stems, to places outside of the area without inspection. 

 It is possible to certify some of the stock in the field, but a greater part of it 

 is examined in the Boston market. We believe the quarantine work has been 

 very effective in retarding the spread of this insect, but we have great hopes 

 in the following bill passed by the legislature last spring: 



". . . . Every person in the infested area in possession of land on which 

 corn of any kind has been grown, shall, not later than December first of the 

 year of its growth, plow, or cause to be plowed the field in which it was 

 grown, so as to bury the stubble to a depth of at least six inches, or pull 

 up said stubble or cause it to be pulled up and destroy it, or cause it to be 

 destroyed, by burning, and every person having in his possession corn stalks 

 shall, not later than April tenth of the year following that of their growth, 

 completely dispose of such corn stalks by using them as fodder or by burning 

 them. Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be punished by 

 a fine of not less than twenty-five nor more than five hundred dollars." 



While the borer infests a large number of plants, it prefers corn and in 

 the lightly infested towns and towns on the border, most of the borers are 



