P.D. 123 17 



unit from the north, where much preliminary work has been done, south- 

 ward. The State then will have been thoroug:hly covered, except in Cape 

 Cod and the islands, where there are very few beekeepers and colonies of 

 bees. 



The Inspector of Apiaries and deputies have attended many beekeepers' 

 meeting:s where they have usually spoken. The apiary inspectors for the 

 year 1931 were as follows: 



Inspector of Apiaries, Burton N. Gates, Worcester. 



Deputy Apiary Inspectors: 

 Mr. Fred E. Challet, Northampton Mr. H. Shuman, Billerica. 

 Mr. F. S. Devereux, Green Harbor. Mr. John Van de Poele, Abington. 

 Mr. B. A. Hildreth, Sherborn. Mr. H. L. Walton, Worcester. 



Mr. Ivan Rawson, Pittsfield. 



White Pine Blister Rust Work 



The Division has maintained its co-operation with the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, local property owners, and other State Depart- 

 ments owning forest lands, in the endeavor to prevent further damage to 

 the white pine trees of the Commonwealth, as a result of the prevalence 

 of the fungous disease known as the white pine blister rust. This disease, 

 which passes a part of its so-called life cycle in the tissues of the leaves of 

 currant and gooseberry bushes (Ribes), is known to have damaged white 

 pines in 329 of the 355 cities and towns in Massachusetts, according to our 

 records to the close of the present fiscal year. 



The temperature, humidity, and rainfall conditions during the field season 

 from April to October, inclusive, were very favorable to an unprecedented 

 development of the disease, at least on the Ribes host plants. These condi- 

 tions will, undoubtedly, result in an increased evidence of the rust on white 

 pines in those sections of the State where Ribes still persist. 



During the year, the efforts of the personnel of the Division were about 

 equally divided between the task to destroy all wild and cultivated Ribes 

 in the white pine growing sections of the State, and the special project in- 

 volving the complete elimination from the entire State area of European 

 black currants, a variety of Ribes, particularly susceptible to infection. In 

 the regular control work, 115,529 acres of land were examined, and 264,215 

 wild Ribes were found and destroyed. In this work 6,658 Ribes under 

 cultivation were uprooted as a further protection to nearby white pines. 

 The Division co-operated with 383 individual property owners, and three 

 other State Departments in this protective work. In the special project 

 relating to the elimination of black currants, it was necessary to examine 

 141,342 properties in the 103 cities and towns canvassed during the year. 

 On 1,330 of the locations inspected, plantings of black currants were found 

 and destroyed. These garden plots contained 11,716 such plants. In this 

 special project 41 per cent of the individuals who possessed black currants 

 removed them voluntarily. 



During the regular spring inspection of the white pine producing nurseries 

 in the State, the disease was apparently still in existence in but two nurseries. 

 The surroundings of three pine producing nurseries were re-examined, in 

 order to maintain adequate Ribes-free conditions and thus insure the con- 

 tinued production of disease-free white pines in our Massachusetts nur- 

 series. In these examinations, conditions were found to be very satisfactorj"-, 

 and a mere 31 wild Ribes were found in all the areas examined. It was 

 also gratifying to note that in these instances at least there had been no 

 replanting of cultivated Ribes in the sanitation zones. 



Permits Granted 

 In connection with the Federal quarantine relating to the interstate trans- 

 portation of Ribes and five-leafed pines, 89 permits were issued from this 

 office, allowing the entry into Massachusetts of 1,254 currant bushes,and 

 443 gooseberry bushes. In addition, 12 permits were granted to accompany 



