6 P.D. 123 



such favorable commendations that it is hoped that some way -will be provided 

 for the continuance of this insect and disease eradication program. Most of the 

 work to be done was accompHshed on private property and releases were obtained 

 from the owners to permit the employees to enter upon the owners' premises and 

 to release the government and State from liability for damage. 



One hundred and seventy-six cities and towns were visited under the European 

 Corn Borer project and 516 persons were employed with a total expenditure of 

 slightly more than $80,000. The work involved under this project consisted of 

 digging up the corn stubble and standing stalks and disposing of such stubble and 

 stalks by burning. The sections of the State where the corn borer has done the 

 greatest damage were selected as the territory within which to carry on this work, 

 and it is expected that the work accomplished will assist to a great extent in further- 

 ing the control of the corn borer which the Department has fostered for the past 

 fifteen years. 



Under the White Pine Blister Rust project 43 towns were visited in infested areas 

 and 136 men were employed at a total expenditure of approximately $30,000. 

 More than 4,000 acres of pine trees were examined and approximately 18,000 

 stem-cankered trees were removed, and about 13,000 pines were treated for branch 

 cankers. In the 174,701 places inspected for black currants, about 6,000 currant 

 bushes were found. The work accomplished under this project was of considerable 

 importance in the program of control work mapped out by the Department for 

 white pine bhster rust control. 



Six hundred men were employed in the Fire Protection project which was carried 

 on in 65 cities and towns of Plymouth, Bristol, Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket 

 counties. Four hundred and ninetyneight water holes were constructed which 

 protect nearly 11,000 dwellings — that with forest lands are valued at $40,000,000. 

 The total cost of the project was $115,279.16 and 99^ per cent of this amount went 

 to labor, as tools and equipment, for the most part, were furnished by the various 

 communities where the work was being done. Before the project was completed 

 more than $210,000 worth of property is known to have been saved by the use of 

 these water holes by local fire departments. 



The State Knitting project which was administered by the Department was 

 organized through the County Extension Services and gave employment to 1,090 

 women. There were 75 separate knitting groups organized and every county in 

 the State with the exception of the Island counties was represented. The project 

 cost $202,075.26 and the value of the materials made was appraised at $104,615. 

 The knitted articles were turned over to the various welfare boards for distribution 

 to the needy. 



Through the State Reclamation Board there were several mosquito control 

 projects, part as regular CWA projects and part Federal projects. In all 1,038 men 

 were employed. The amount of money spent was $151,796.41 and was furnished 

 by the State Civil Works Administration, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 

 and the U. S. Department of Agriculture. A more detailed account of this project 

 is recorded under the report of the State Reclamation Board found in another 

 section of this bulletin. 



All of the relief work accomplished under these Civil Works projects will react 

 to the benefit of Massachusetts agriculture, and many of the persons employed 

 were farmers who were having considerable difficulty in carrying on their farm 

 enterprises under the circumstances that the depression had brought about. The 

 work was widespread and had a definite educational value, in that the persons 

 employed under the different projects contacted many persons who had not pre- 

 viously been reached by Department representatives. The entire program was 

 carried out with a measure of efficiency and effectiveness that bespeaks a seriousness 

 of purpose and a conscientious effort of each person employed either in a super- 

 visory or laboring capacity. 



Massachusetts Farms for Sale 



For more than fifty years the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture has 



listed farms for sale in this Commonwealth. This publication has been the means 



of finding buyers from all over the United States to purchase our farms which for 



one reason or another are offered for sale. This Ust has been particularly valuable 



