P.D. 123 5 



tinue to increase for the next ten to fifteen years. Fruit growers pro- 

 ducing a high quality of fruit will continue to find a satisfactory market. 

 Further development of cooperative effort along lines of grading, pack- 

 ing, and marketing lines will assist materially in the better disposal of 

 Massachusetts fruit. 



Strawberries 

 The competition of the early strawberry from the more southern states 

 with its consequent low price for this fruit just prior to the entrance of 

 the native strawberry upon the market is causing a serious situation to 

 the local farmers. The solution of this problem will involve more inten- 

 sive methods of production and the formation of packing, grading and 

 marketing associations with the eventual placing of Massachusetts A 

 grade strawberries upon the all big city markets. 



Poultry and Eggs 

 Massachusetts poultry producers will continue to enjoy a favorable 

 local market for fresh eggs and dressed poultry. The use of the "Massa- 

 chusetts Special," a New England label upon eggs graded in accordance 

 with the requirements promulgated by the Commissioner of Agriculture 

 will greatly assist in advertising our quality eggs. 



Cranberries 

 Massachusetts cranberry producers had a very prosperous year in 1927 

 and the outlook for 1928 is favorable. Continuing efforts are being made 

 to perfect new methods of using surplus cranberries in by-products thus 

 giving to the growers additional income and greater profits. 



Recognition of Agricultural Achievement 

 The Department of Agriculture has perfected a plan for giving six gold 

 medals each year to persons, in the State who have achieved outstanding 

 leadership. The medals are awarded each year by a board of awards 

 made up as follows: 



Commissioner of Agriculture, Dr. Arthur W. Gilbert; Members of Ad- 

 visory Board, Peter I. Adams, John Bursley, Stuart L. Little, Evan F. 

 Richardson, Herbert N. Shepard, Leslie R. Smith; Director, Division of 

 Markets, Frederick V. Waugh; Director, Division of Animal Husbandry, 

 J. C. Cort; Representi7ig the Massachusetts Agricultural College, Prof. 

 George L. Farley; Representing New England Homestead, Glenn C. 

 Sevey. 



A brief record follows of the achievements of the persons who received 

 these medals for 1927: 



Edward Howe Forbush, Westborough, Mass. 



For Outstanding Achievement in Economic Ornithology and Protection 



of Wild Life 



Edward Howe Forbush was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on April 

 24, 1858, the son of Leander Pomeroy Forbush and Ruth Hudson (Carr) 

 Forbush. He was seven years old when his family removed to West Rox- 

 bury. 



In 1865 West Roxbury was still a farming region, with considerable 

 areas of woodlands, and here the boy's outdoor tastes and his love for wild 

 life developed apace. He became an interested reader of outdoor litera- 

 ture and began to shape his life work at that time. He studied drawing 

 and modeling, and at the age. of fourteen learned taxidermy, all as aids 

 in his bird study. About this time his family moved to Worcester, where 

 he became a member of the Worcester Natural History Society, and his 

 studies soon began to show results in the form of printed articles on birds. 



When he was nineteen years old he spent several months with a friend 

 exploring and collecting in Florida, and this was the first of many scien- 

 tific journeys to be undertaken. His thirtieth year found him on the Pa- 



