P.D. 123 13 



A Fish Retailers' Handbook has been written to be distributed at these schools. 

 Certificates will be given each man attending the school for display in the store. 



REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF PLANT PEST CONTROL 



Insect pests and plant diseases have been a continued hindrance to agriculture 

 from the earliest times and have levied a heavy toll upon our agricultural crops 

 during recent years. Our native long established pests are not nearly as destruc- 

 tive as foreign insects and diseases which have found their way into this country. 

 Here, in their new environment and without their natural enemies, which usually 

 keep them in check in their native country, they frequently increase at an 

 alarming rate and do enormous damage before nature establishes a balance 

 or before efficient control measures are known. 



The stock in the nurseries during the past season was found to be in good 

 condition, and with very few exceptions the insects and diseases were kept well 

 under control by the nurserymen. 



There has been the usual number of shipments of nursery stock by individuals 

 which required inspection and certification. Many insects and plant diseases 

 were also brought into the office for identification and requests made for control 

 measures. Most of these related to insects attacking garden crops and informa- 

 tion relating to household pests. 



The Federal quarantines continue to cause some inconvenience to the nursery- 

 men, but the quarantined areas have increased to such size within the past few 

 years that now the majority of the shipments are consigned to points that are 

 within the areas. 



Scouting for the Japanese Beetle both in and around the nurseries failed to 

 disclose even a single specimen of this pest. It is expected, however, that as 

 this insect is firmly established in Massachusetts that the infestation wiU build 

 up gradually. Control measures such as spraying and soil treatment are very 

 effective in keeping it under control. 



The department has cooperated with the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture in the administration of the Corn Borer and Japanese Beetle regulations, 

 both in the vegetable and flower markets. The European Corn Borer law which 

 has been in force since 1923 has proved very helpful in reducing the degree of 

 infestation of this insect. The law requires that all corn stubble shall be de- 

 stroyed or buried by December 1. It has been the policy of this department 

 to enforce this law and summons violators into hearings. This practice was 

 omitted this past season and a clean-up campaign of corn fields was carried on 

 as a CWA project during December, January, and February. The results were 

 not particularly satisfactory for it can readily be seen that work of such a 

 nature cannot be done efficiently or economically when snow is on the ground 

 or the ground is frozen. 



Scouting for Dutch Elm Disease 



The Department inspectors did considerable scouting this past summer for 

 the Dutch elm disease without finding any trees infected. The Dutch elm 

 disease is so called because it was first found in Holland and was discovered ia 

 this country in 1930 in Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio. Since then it has been 

 found in northern New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Indiana, and 

 Virginia, and is now firmly established over an area 40 miles from New York 

 City. It is believed that this disease was brought in on elm logs which were to 

 be used for veneer, and it is not unlikely that later it will be found along the 

 Atlantic seaboard near ports where elm logs have been landed. The first sign 

 of this disease is the wilting of leaves after which the foliage usually turns 

 yellow or brown before falling. The entire tree may die in one season or may 

 live for some time, but in all probability it will eventually succumb to the disease. 



This disease is carried by a small bark beetle which is widely distributed in 

 northeastern United States. The economic importance of this beetle has been 

 completely changed with the finding of the Dutch elm disease in America and 



