Part I.] REPORT OF SECRETARY. 39 



winter. In many parts of Massachusetts the bees did not 

 supply themselves with sufficient stores for winter, and for this 

 reason the inspector has sent a warning letter to beekeepers, 

 urging them to prepare their bees for winter quarters. 



That the apiary inspection service is appreciated by the bee- 

 keepers of the State is shown by the constant calls made on the 

 inspector for assistance. 



State Ornithologist. 

 The State Ornithologist, Edward Howe Forbush, laid out an 

 immense amount of work for the year. With the approval of 

 the Board, bills were introduced (1) to provide him with an 

 assistant, (2) to extend his educational work into the rural 

 schools, (3) to provide for publication of the facts ascertained 

 by him in a volume with colored plates illustrating all the birds 

 of the Commonwealth, and (4) to institute a State-wide inquiry 

 regarding the distribution of these birds within the State. As 

 a result of the introduction of these bills an inadequate appro- 

 priation w^as allowed by the Legislature for assistance to the 

 ornithologist, and Arbor Day was made Bird Day also. The 

 other bills calling for appropriations failed on account of the 

 necessity of appropriating immense sums for the war. 



During the year the ornithologist has assembled much ma- 

 terial for publication which could not be printed owing to scant 

 appropriations and the necessity forced upon the Board by the 

 war of publishing matter relating to the production and con- 

 servation of food. The ornithologist made a personal investi- 

 gation into the present status of water birds breeding on our 

 coast, studied the causes of the decrease of the heath hen, and 

 made recommendations to the Commissioners on Fisheries and 

 Game looking toward the protection of diminishing species. 

 In May he made an inquiry into the destruction of insectivorous 

 birds by the elements. He secured for publication a list of the 

 museums and other institutions of the State where collections 

 of birds may be seen and examined. He organized a corps of 

 about 200 observers in the various counties of the State to 

 study and report upon the distribution of birds in their localities. 



He has been appointed again by the National Secretary of 

 Agriculture as a member of the Advisory Board which considers 



