22 P.D. 123 



setts deputy work along the State lines jointly with the Rhode Island in- 

 spector. If this plan can be matured, a marked improvement in the con- 

 dition along that portion of the State border should result. It should 

 eliminate what has been charged; namely, that there is a certain amount 

 of undetectable interchange of bees between the States; some of this in- 

 terchange being reported as diseased bees. 



The box-hive situation is improving. Practically all beekeepers who 

 had been instructed to transfer, completed their task within the agreed 

 time, or made other arrangements with the office. A noticeable feature 

 which the inspectors encounter in the box-hive situation, is that a large 

 percentage of those who fail to follow the Department regulations are 

 foreigners. These apparently try to keep bees on fast combs, as has been 

 the custom in their native countries. Similarly, some of the aged bee- 

 keepers native to the State, hang to the traditional manner of beekeeping 

 of their fathers, only relinquishing the method after persistent reason- 

 ing by the deputies. There appears to be little willful violation of the 

 box-hive regulation. 



Particular attention to the sanitation of apiaries has been given dur- 

 ing the past year. It has been necessary to have some extensive clean- 

 ups resulting in the disposal of possibly infectious materials discovered 

 to have been stored for years. More and more attention will be given 

 to searching out these obscure, latent, but potent sources of reinfection. 

 On the whole, however, there are, year by year, fewer careless beekeepers 

 who habitually leave exposed combs and other bee material contrary to 

 the Department regulation. 



White Pine Blister Rust 



This Division is conducting, in co-operation with the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture, an intensive state-wide campaign to prevent the 

 further spread of the white pine blister rust, a fungous disease which 

 causes serious damage to white pine trees and which is transmitted 

 through the agency of currant and gooseberry bushes. 



The blister rust was first found in Massachusetts in the early summer 

 of 1917 and has already become generally distributed throughout the 

 Commonwealth. To date, November 30, 1926, the disease is known to be 

 present in at least 210 townships. In 23 of these townships, the disease 

 was located this year for the first time. The degree of infection naturally 

 varies in different parts of the State, but areas of general infection pre- 

 vail especially in Essex Conty, both northern and southern Worcester 

 County, northern Plymouth County, western Hampden County, western 

 Franklin County, and in southern Berkshire County. Local spot infec- 

 tions, that is, one or more diseased trees, exist in all sections, and it is 

 fair to say, that upon diligent search, the disease can now be found in 

 any town in Massachusetts where white pine trees grow in any abundance. 



The Federal Department, as its part in the program of control, has 

 assigned seven men to districts in Massachusetts. These men have been 

 appointed to conduct an educational and service campaign throughout 

 the pine growing sections of the State. The purpose of this campaign 

 is to disseminate information regarding the disease and then to secure 

 the concerted action of all concerned to eradicate wild and cultivated cur- 

 rant and gooseberry bushes, in order that the continued production of 

 white pine as the most important timber crop in the Commonwealth, may 

 be maintained. 



The function of the Division of Plant Pest Control in the general pro- 

 gram, is to render a reasonable amount of assistance to property owners. 

 The rendering of this service involves the employment of a limited num- 

 ber of men — 33 in 1926, during the period from the middle of April to the 

 last of September. These men are trained to locate the habitate where wild 

 currant and gooseberry bushes grow, and to make thorough examinations 

 of such areas. In conducting the work, these men accompany the owners 



