xxli BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



work be desirable? If so, how could such a journal be secured 

 and maintained? " 



The increase of $1,000 requested in my estimates for the 

 year for the "dissemination of useful information in agri- 

 culture" was granted by the Legislature. This allowed the 

 publication of all the bulletins, circulars, nature leaflets and 

 crop reports that time for careful editing would allow without 

 curtailing the institute work, although more might have been 

 done had action been taken upon the matter at an earlier date. 



Apiary Inspection. 



Since the establishment of the apiary inspection service on a 

 permanent basis by the Legislature of 1911, there has been good 

 opportunity to standardize the work and plan well into the 

 future. This has resulted in still more efficient work during 

 the year of 1912, and a resultant wider understanding by the 

 horticulturists of the importance of bees to this industry and 

 a keener appreciation on the part of beekeepers of the necessity 

 of avoiding and combating the different bee diseases. The 

 State has been practically covered during the past year, and 

 conditions have proved very satisfactory. In February the 

 convention of apiary inspectors of northeastern United States 

 and Canada was held at Amherst. A partial report of the pro- 

 ceedings of this convention, containing valuable papers delivered 

 at that time, will be printed in connection with the annual 

 report of the State Inspector of Apiaries. The commendation 

 of the inspection service in this State which found expression 

 at this conference was very gratifying to this Board and to the 

 State Inspector. 



Nursery Inspection. 



The work of this department has developed remarkably in 

 the past few years. Primarily, the inspection work consisted 

 of an examination of growing nursery stock in the field only. 

 The recent introduction from abroad of serious insect pests 

 and plant diseases, however, which threaten the nursery and 

 forest interests of the State and have become a public menace, 

 has made clear the necessity of a thorough inspection of foreign 

 imports of imrsery stock in order to prevent the further 

 introduction of similar insect pests and plant diseases. Further- 



