P.D. 123 19 



desk where it was signed and now constitutes a phase of legal procedure 

 in the packing and marking of packages of apples. 



The general policy of the Department has been to vigorously enforce 

 all laws and the inspectors in the field have been particularly attentive to 

 their duties with this goal in mind. This rigid policy of enforcement has 

 not involved the Department in a record number of prosecutions. Hear- 

 ings before representatives authorized by the Commissioner have been 

 held in many of the principal cities and towns in the Commonwealth. All 

 first violators of the Apple Grading Law or the Corn Borer Law have 

 been called to these hearings. One hundred and forty-five first offenders 

 with respect to packing or marking and branding packages of apples, were 

 called before boards composed of the chief inspector, the inspector re- 

 porting the violation, and the Director of the Division charged with the 

 enforcement of the law and in all cases the violation was explained in de- 

 tail, necessary instruction and advice given as to remedying the error or 

 omission, and the facilities of the Department were freely off'ered to the 

 offending party to the end that future shipments of apples might be 

 packed and branded in full compliance with the Massachusetts Apple 

 Grading Law. 



Two hundred and eighty-nine persons failed to plough under the corn 

 stubble or pull it up and destroy it before December 1, 1927, and an in- 

 dividual hearing was given to each offending party. These hearings were 

 arranged so as to inconvenience as little as possible the persons reported 

 as violating the law, but who had in fact small garden plots. 



The provisions of the Corn Borer Law were explained to each person 

 by the Director of the Division of Plant Pest Control, and instruction on 

 the life cycle of the corn borer and its devastating effect on corn plantings 

 was an interesting and important part of the hearings. 



Apple Grading Law 



The apple grading law has been in force for considerable time and the 

 majority of orchardists are familiar with its requirements, believing in 

 it thoroughly. 



As in the past much of the work is educational although this does not 

 mean any let down in the real work of inspecting the apples under the law. 

 There are, however, many new people that yearly come into the apple 

 packing game and these are the ones who need the most attention. 



Meetings of our inspectors and apple growers were held in Franklin 

 and Hampden Counties to explain and demonstrate the provisions of the 

 apple grading law. 



On account of the unfavorable climatic conditions this year — much of 

 the Baldwin crop that in a normal year could be shipped as "A" grade 

 fruit had to be put in a lower grade, especially on account of lack of color 

 or too much russetting. However, progress is being made as the commis- 

 sion men in our principal markets state that our grading and inspection 

 service has been of real aid in the merchandising of our Massachusetts 

 fruit. 



Seed Law in Operation 



Work was started for the first time in collecting seed samples according 

 to the law recently enacted. Inspectors of the Department collected 476 

 samples from 32 dealers in 15 cities and towns of the Commonwealth. 

 These samples were forwarded to the Seed Laboratory at the Massachu- 

 setts Agricultural Experiment Station, Amherst and tested. As the law 

 is a recent one, many dealers naturally were not informed as to the sub- 

 stance of the law and the inspectors in all cases explained its meaning 

 and left copies for the dealers' information. The coming year a re-cheek 

 will be made on those inspected and new dealers visited. 



