28 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 417 



private citizens who, because of the nature of their problems, deserve this con- 

 sideration. 



Under the dairy law 8,834 pieces of Babcock glassware were tested and 102 

 Certificates of Proficiency were issued during the one and one-half years ending 

 June 30, 1944. 



The enlarged emphasis on the vitamin values of all feeds, and commercial 

 feeds in particular, and the increased interest in the mineral content of poultry 

 mashes and in the protein quality of meat and fish products used for feed de- 

 mands continual expansion of the analytical service in those fields. 



Resti^ictions in the use of certain materials and the scarcity or entire absence of 

 others have made complete compliance with the feed and fertilizer laws difficult. 

 The trade on the whole are to be commended for the attempt they are making. 



War gardens have augmented the demands made upon the Seed Laboratory 

 for checking of vegetable seeds. This additional work has been handled without 

 an increase in staff partly due to the fact that the laboratory has been able to 

 secure new supplies and equipment which not only facilitate the work but also 

 bring methods and procedure more nearly up to date. 



Two members of the Control Staff are on military leave. The positions have 

 been temporarily filled. 



THE CRANBERRY STATION 



East Wareham, Massachusetts 



H. J. Franklin in Charge 



Weather Studies. (H. J. Franklin, H. F. Bergman, and N. E. Stevens.) The 

 various relations of the weather to cranberry culture were given very extensive 

 attention during the year. Most of these studies have been followed over a long 

 term of years and some of them were finished and the results published in Bul- 

 letin 402. Studies of the relations of the weather to cranberry yields are being 

 continued. 



Injurious and Beneficial Insects Affecting the Cranberry. (H. J. Franklin.) 



Hill Fireworm {Tlascala finitella (Walker)). The infestation of this pest on 

 the Burrage bog, mentioned in previous reports, ^ continued to be extensive in 

 1943. The bog was completely flooded on June 4 for 36 hours to stop the egg- 

 laying of the moths and again on June 13 for 36 hours to kill the worms that 

 had hatched. In spite of these treatments, the worms became very abundant 

 among the vines. Apparently many of the moths had escaped the first flooding 

 by flying ashore and then returned to lay more eggs on the bog. 



Eggs of this insect, laid In confinement on June 4, hatched on June 9, only 5 

 to 6 days after they were laid. When first laid, the eggs were oblong-oval and 

 yellow or reddish yellow, the largest of them being very nearly a millimeter 

 long. They became bright crimson within a day and a half and remained so up 

 to within half a day of their hatching. 



The newly hatched worms had blackish heads and reddish bodies. 



As in the two previous years, the worms did most of their work well down 

 among the vines in a zone 3 to 6 inches above the bog sand. 



Cranberry Spittle Insect (Clastoptera). The nymphs were first found in their 

 spittle on June 7. Flooding for 24 hours as soon as occasional flowers have 

 opened proved to be a very effective treatment on a number of bogs. 



' Mass. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bui. 388:37, 1942; and 398:26, 1943. 



