-9- 



are asked to make a survey of farm labor n-^eds to determine hov; many extra 

 v/orkers will be needed, when, how long, and for what type of v/ork. 



A Successful Retailers' School 



Sixty fruit store ovmers and clerks attended the Retailers' School 

 in Worcester during January and February. Six sessions at weekly intervals 

 v.'ere arranged and sponsored by the Y.'oroester County Extension Service, in 

 cooperation with the Vocational Division of the State Department of Education, 

 State Dept. of Agriculture, and Mass. State College. Those attending viere 

 given instruction in displaying fruits and vegetables, salesmanship, and in 

 methods of handling vAich will lessen the amount of shrinkage. Instructors 

 at the School were G. B. Snyder and V.', H. Thies of M.S.C., Eleanor Bateman 

 of t he State Dept. of Agriculture, and Gladys Goldthorpe Atkins of the V^or- 

 cester County Extension Service. 



The Rat Menace 



Robert M. Borg of the Fish & Viildldfe Service has prepared the follow- 

 ing timely suggestions on the control of ratsj 



"Mankind has no greater, more resourceful, or persistent enemy than 

 the common rat. Rats are found everj'where in Massachusetts working day 

 and night committing depredations. If rats are terribly destructive and 

 dangerous in time of peace, they are doubly so in time of war and emergency. 

 Therefore, in our all-out production for VICTORY v;e cannot afford to let 

 this v/orthless pesiTgo on destroying and contaminating food and vital 

 supplies, spreading disease, causing fires, disrupting communications, 

 and killing domestic livestock. 



"The rat problem is a general one and concerns every one of us. It 

 can only be solved by our continued and persistent efforts in carrying out 

 measures which are known to produce permanent results. Furthermore, per- 

 manent rat control is the only v/ay to attain the highest degree of health, 

 protection and reduction of economic losses. IIow to meet this problem 

 intelligently and practically is a matter of interest and ; grave concern 

 to us all. Every community can solve its rat problem in a satisfactory 

 manner if v/e, as citizens, do our part by joining in this rat extermina- 

 tion program. 



"Rats can be permanently excluded by proper construction, repair, and 

 upkeep of all structures and by always keeping the premises in a sanitary 

 condition. Rats require both food and shelter, and they cannot exist where 

 either of these is lacking. Therefore, (1) eliminate all sources of food 

 by protecting it from rats, (2) eliminate all shelter for rats in and out- 

 side of buildings, i.e., places where they hide and breed, (3) eliminate 

 the rats by poisoning, trapping, and gassing, finally (4) eliminate rats 

 permanently by rat-proofing nev;^ and old structures. 



"The most efficient way to destroy rats is by poisoning them. This 

 involves exposing throughout the rat infested area several kinds of un- 

 poisoned baits (meat, fish, cereal, vegetables, fruit, and others) to find 

 out v;hat bait the rats prefer. Then the preferred bait material should be 

 mixed with the poison according to directions and exposed in the same lo- 

 cation. Only red squill rat baits should be used by the public because 



