24 P.D. 123 



3. Prosecutions. All cases that cannot be settled to the full satis- 

 faction of the commissioner at a hearing are prosecuted in the lower 

 courts. During the past year, more than 125 persons were called 

 into official hearings and only two cases were prosecuted in our 

 courts. All persons who were heard by the regulatory section were 

 followed up carefully through subsequent inspections, and it is our 

 observation that the men called into hearings profited greatly by the 

 admonition and advice that was given by the regulatory officers. 



The new law apparently has created a more favorable situation with re- 

 spect to violations, inasmuch as not more than 25 hearings have been con- 

 ducted during the months of August, September, October and November 

 on violations of the optional law. 



Seventy-five per cent of all violations reported have been for overfacing 

 the packages. This is a serious violation, inasmuch as the faced or shown 

 surface of the package is better than the contents and the buyer is deceived. 

 It is our policy to make every effort to eliminate this phase of misrepresen- 

 tation and deceit, and the great majority of progressive fruit growers are 

 in strict sympathy with our efforts along this line. 



Corn Borer Enforcement 



During the past season, the number of corn borer violators summoned 

 to hearings at the State House and other designated points was appreciably 

 decreased. A new system was introduced, wherein the person neglecting 

 to take care of corn stubble in the home garden was given instructions by 

 the inspector and was requested to return a post card to this department 

 indicating that the corn stubble had either been destroyed or buried to a 

 depth of six inches or more. This plan has apparently worked very well, 

 inasmuch as we have received wholehearted co-operation from the small 

 gardeners in carrying out the policy of the department. No prosecutions 

 resulted from the hearings conducted in the cases of the large growers, 

 inasmuch as all were first violations, and it has not been the policy of the 

 Department in enforcing the provisions of the Corn Borer Law to bring first 

 offences into court. None of the violations reported during the past season 

 were for second offences. 



There has been a considerable activity on the part of Federal and State 

 agencies interested in the control of the corn borer to put into practical 

 operation the use of low cutting devices that will cut the corn stalk at the 

 ground leaving no appreciable stubble. The corn growers have been noti- 

 fied through the county extension offices that the corn borer law would be 

 inoperative in cases where the low cutting machinery cut the corn stalk 

 at the ground level, leaving no corn stubble. Several demonstrations of low 

 cutting devices have been carried on in different counties during the past 

 year, and it seems that considerable improvement is being made in these 

 implements for better control work. The Department is in favor of a pro- 

 gressive development along this line. 



The Seed Law 

 Approximately 500 seed samples were collected during the past year from 

 communities in every county in the State, and it would appear that a cross 

 section of the seed industry was truly represented in the type and kinds of 

 seed samples collected. All of the samples were sent to the seed laboratory 

 at the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station and a report of their 

 findings will be published in bulletin form during the winter months. Regu- 

 latory work in connection with the enforcement of the seed law for the first 

 few years will be centered chiefly on the publishing of results and tests and 

 analyses of the samples collected from the seed dealers. The seed law is a 

 true labeling law and poor seed may be sold if correctly labeled. It is our 

 purpose to teach the farmer the resulting benefits of buying good seed that 

 is correctly labeled and to insist upon the dealer selling seed with due regard 

 to the provisions of the seed law. Hearings on reported violations will be 



