TENTH REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE OF THE STATE OF VERMONT FOR THE BIENNIAL PERIOD July 1, 1918, to June 30, 1920 E. S. BRIGHAM, Commissioner. St. Albans, Vt. INDEX. 47 35 Livestock Commissioner, Report of.. ཟ ོན 20 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. OFFICE OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, To His Excellency Percival W. Clement, Governor of Vermont: Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith the report of the Commissioner of Agriculture for the two years ending June 30, 1920, together with the report of the various societies for the promotion of agriculture. ELBERT S. BRIGHAM, Commissioner of Agriculture. P REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. S E. S. BRIGHAM. The following report covers in detail the work of the department of agriculture for the biennial period as it relates to the administration of the agricultural laws and to projects undertaken for the advancement of the agricultural interests of the state. SUPPRESSION OF INJURIOUS INSECTS AND FUNGUS DISEASES. During the biennial period the State has been free from any serious infestation of new insect pests. The brown-tail moth, which caused considerable expense a few years ago in our efforts toward eradication, is now practically extinct. In the winter of 1920, however, scouting work done by the agents of the U. S. bureau of entomology revealed the presence of gypsy moth egg masses in a strip of territory along the Connecticut River about the width of two townships and extending from Dummerston on the south to Waterford on the north. The work necessary to be done to hunt out the nests in this infested territory and to kill the eggs was in excess of what could be done by the U. S. bureau of entomology with its available funds. An allotment of $3,000 was made by the state to supplement the bureau funds in order to carry the work to completion. Reference is made to the report of H. L. Bailey, who has been in charge of insect control, for a detailed account of the work and for a more complete discussion of the general insect situation. The European corn borer is another serious insect pest which has made its appearance in southern New England and in the state of New York. Owing to the importance of the corn crop to our agriculture, we must take every precaution to prevent its introduction into this state. On July 11, 1919, a quarantine notice was issued forbidding the importation into Vermont of any stalks or ears of corn from the territory infested with corn borer. On April 8, 1920, the following more comprehensive quarantine order was issued and now remains in force. |
