364 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



road and the road to the north, is pretty generally infected. 

 The disease is found throughout the entire town, but is far 

 more prevalent on the younger trees. 



Northbridge. — The chestnut blight has badly infected young 

 chestnut sprout lands, much of which occurs in this town. 

 Almost every plot of young chestnut contains infected trees. 

 In the western part of the town, in the woods of larger trees, 

 the blight is not very prevalent. It occurs scatteringly in 

 practically all chestnut woods in the eastern part of the town. 



Sutton. — The chestnut blight occurs practically everywhere 

 in the young sprout lands. The older trees as yet do not show 

 the effects. In one place, situated about midway up the eastern 

 boundary of the town it has killed every tree, and at present 

 is spreading fast in all directions. 



This chestnut bark disease work the State Forester has 

 organized for purposes of economic effectiveness, as follows: 

 The assistant in immediate charge, who is an expert, is given a 

 definite policy to carry out. The expert, Air. Pierce in this 

 case, is then authorized to enlist the assistance of the regular 

 staff of this organization as a large auxiliary body of men to 

 report their observations as they travel about the State. This 

 necessitates the acquaintance of the men with the disease. 

 Co-operation in this way increases the amount of good the 

 department may do; also broadens and develops our employees 

 for greater usefulness. 



Besides the assistants and division men, forest wardens, moth 

 superintendents and patrolmen are all included. 



Recommendations. 



Studies made throughout the State show that the younger 

 thin-barked chestnut sprouts have become affected by the chest- 

 nut bark disease to a much higher per cent than older stands 

 of thick-barked trees; that is, while the younger trees are often 

 infected from 25 to 100 per cent, the older trees near by would 

 show infection from only 1 to 10 per cent. 



While it is possible by removal of blight cankers and diseased 

 limbs on valuable lawn and park trees, or on grafted nut trees, 

 to prolong the life of chestnut trees affected by the bark dis- 

 ease, yet this sort of treatment is not applicable to forest trees. 

 Wherever the chestnut blight has affected the trees in the forest. 



