36 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 449 



studied during the past year were New Braintree in Worcester County, Amherst 

 in Hampshire County, and West Newbury in Essex County. The study involves 

 ascertaining present as well as former uses of each individual property. Further 

 information is obtained from the records of the Agricultural Conservation Service 

 so far as they are available. For the j^ears already examined and analyzed, the 

 following preliminary data indicate the changes occurring in agricultural land 

 use and ownership. 



There has been a continuous increase in the number of transactions affecting 

 agricultural land throughout the period, reaching greatest intensity in the im- 

 mediate postwar year. The number of transactions in the three towns under 

 consideration increased from 32 in 1940 to 69 in 1946; and the number of acres 

 involved, from 858 to 2700. In most cases the type of land use has shown a 

 change under new ownership in both the prewar and the postwar periods. In 

 1940, out of a total of 32 transfers, only 13 farm units retained their former use; 

 and in 1946, only 19 out of 69. Some of the farming units lost their identity after 

 transfer and became part of a larger farming unit. 



Changes from part-time farming into full-time farming or the reverse occurred 

 in about equal numbers, both in the prewar period and in 1946. On the basis of 

 incomplete preliminary figures, it appears that the movement of farm land into 

 non-farming use is somewhat greater than the reverse movement of non-farm 

 land into farms. 



As a part of the study of the general trend in Massachusetts agriculture, an 

 agricultural production program for 1948 was worked out and published in mimeo- 

 graphed form. 



DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY 

 Charles P. Alexander in Charge 



Investigation of Materials Which Promise Value in Insect Control. (A. I. 



Bourne, W. D. Whitcomb, W. J. Garland, and C. S. Hood.) In the cooperative 

 experiment with the Dow Chemical Company, dormant application of experi- 

 mental materials D-289 and D-542 on apple killed overwintered eggs of apple 

 aphids. Unsprayed trees in the test block showed 2050 aphids per 50 buds, with 

 some buds showing as many as 105 plant lice; while on sprayed trees only an 

 occasional bud showed a single aphid. No retardation in seasonal development 

 resulted from either material. 



Dormant application of D-289 and D-542 on sweet cherries practically elim- 

 inated black cherry aphis for the season. For the first time since this block had 

 been set out, the trees were practically free from the evidence of this pest. No 

 further steps were taken to control aphids in this block during the entire season, 

 in contrast to previous years when several sprays of nicotine sulfate had been 

 applied each year in an unsuccessful effort to check this pest. 



Dormant application of D-289 and D-542 in the variety pear block gave very 

 good control of pear psylla, although protracted cold windy weather so prolonged 

 the appearance of adult psyllas that the dormant application was not quite so 

 effective as in 1946 when more normal weather prevailed. 



Laboratory tests of D-289 on egg masses of eastern tent caterpillar showed 

 promising reduction in numbers of emerging larvae. The light infestation in this 

 area made it impossible to operate on any large scale. Results were sufficiently 

 good to warrant further study in a season of greater attack. 



