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There is still much confusion regarding the registration of bees, and many beekeepers are not complying with the law. Some beekeepers think that if they register once, they need not do so again. Certain others probably have never registered their bees; though they are subject to a five dollar fine for not doing so on or before October 1. Apparently the law is not enforced in most In the town of Stafford, one beekeeper who failed to register on the date prescribed was prosecuted and fined. I have not heard of another similar case. The law, Chapter 174, Public Acts of 1919, as amended in Chapter 129, Public Acts of 1923, is as follows:

"Section 1. Every person owning one or more hives of bees shall, annually, on or before the first day of October, make application to the town clerk of the town in which such bees are kept, for the registration of such bees, and such town clerk shall issue to such applicant a certificate of registration upon the payment of a recording fee of twenty-five cents, which certificate shall be in the form prescribed and upon blanks furnished by the commissioner of domestic animals and shall be recorded in the office of such town clerk.

Sec. 2. A record of such registration and of the name and place of residence of the registrant and the definite location in the town where bees are kept by him shall be kept in a separate book in the office of the town clerk, which record shall be accessible to the public. Each town clerk shall file with the state entomologist of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station a complete list of such registrations and locations on or before the first day of February of the year succeeding such registrations. Any town clerk failing to perform such duty shall be fined not more than ten dollars."

Sec. 3. Any owner of bees who shall fail to register as required by the provisions of this act shall be fined not more than five dollars."

According to records in this office, 1,416 beekeepers registered in the State in 1923, yet the inspections of 1924 contained 166 names that were not registered the preceding October. As only 923 apiaries were inspected in 1924, which is less than two-thirds of the number registered, there must have been considerably more than 166 beekeepers who failed to register. Moreover, it is rather difficult to obtain complete data from the town clerks.

Of course the law does not compel them to report to the State Entomologist in case no bees have been registered in a given town. Yet unless they do report, the State Entomologist has no way of knowing whether none were registered or whether registrations were made and the clerk failed to report them. Repeated requests and considerable correspondence have been necessary to obtain from the town clerks even an approximate record of the beekeepers who have registered throughout the State.

All beekeepers should each year on or before October 1, register with the town clerk in the towns where their bees are kept.

All town clerks should report complete data regarding such registration to the State Entomologist. They need not wait to do this but may report any time after October 1, and must do so on or before February 1, following such registration.

REPORT OF GIPSY MOTH WORK.

Year Ending June 30, 1924.

BY W. E. BRITTON AND JOHN T. ASHWORTH.

This work has been conducted as in former years by State and Federal agencies working in co-operation, the Federal agencies expending their efforts near the margin of the area known to be infested in order to prevent further spread and the State forces working within the infested area in order to hold the pest in check. This co-operation has proven very satisfactory and we hereby wish to express our appreciation and thanks to Mr. A. F. Burgess, in charge of moth work and Mr. H. L. Blaisdell, in charge of field work, both of the Federal Bureau of Entomology. A somewhat detailed account of how the work is organized and prosecuted was published in the 22nd Report of the State Entomologist, page 290 (see Report of Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station for 1922, page 290) and need not be repeated here. The fact that a larger area is now infested than was known to be infested at that time does not mean that the pest has been spreading rapidly during this period. The explanation lies rather in the extensive windspread of May, 1920, and possible additional spread of 1921, the limits of which have only recently been discovered. Both Federal and State funds have not been adequate to cover all suspected territory in any one season.

NEW EQUIPMENT.

The Buick touring car purchased in 1921 was exchanged March 31, 1924, for a new Buick of similar type.

One new Ford light delivery truck was purchased on December 24, 1923.

As some of the spray hose had seen its best days, it was necessary to replace it, and five hundred feet were purchased on June 23, 1924, from the Acme Rubber Company of Boston, Mass.

The above-mentioned articles, together with a few small tools such as pliers, screw drivers and hammers, comprise the new equipment for the year.

DETAILS OF INFESTATIONS.

WINDHAM COUNTY.

As Windham County lies nearest to the center of the large infested region in New England and was the first county in the State to become generally infested with the gipsy moth, it may rightly be regarded as the most densely infested portion of Connecticut. Such is the case. The following table will show the conditions in the county in 1923 as compared with those in 1917, but does not include the towns of Thompson, Woodstock, Putnam and Plainfield, where the scouting was not completed this year.

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By comparing these figures, it will be seen that the control measures taken and the work done have not been in vain. Parasites have been liberated over the entire county and it is our aim to collect egg-masses in this district this season to determine whether or not they have become established and to what extent they are working.

The following is a brief summary of the work done in each town in the county. In Brooklyn, though no large colonies were found, one of 34 egg-clusters in woodland owned by John Harrington a little west of the Old Trinity Church, and another of 23 egg-clusters in oaks in the Quinebaug mill yard, were the two largest colonies found in the town. Fifteen of the 16 colonies were sprayed by State men in the summer.

Canterbury was scouted in the early fall, and the infestations found were all in the northern half of the town. Three small colonies were found just south of Westminster village, and all others were north of this region. The largest was one of 83 eggclusters in mixed woodland and a stone wall on land owned by Sherman Gallowy in the northwestern part of the town, near the Hampton line. Ten of the 13 infestations were sprayed by State men in June.

One of the five colonies found in Chaplin contained 24 eggclusters, but the others were all small. Seven single egg-clusters were also found scattered widely over the town. The above-mentioned infestation was found in two white oaks on a woodland edge owned by John Evans in the extreme northwestern corner

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