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Voluntary contracts regulating nonagricultural development rights are the heart of the California Land Conservation Act of 1965. Designed to answer some of the criticism of previous land-control devices, the new law should help solve some of the serious problems of population growth and urbanization facing California. The legislation calls for a minimum ten-year period during which the property owner surrenders his nonagricultural development rights; and the local government—presumably the county—acquires those rights in the nature of a trusteeship. The local government will receive a state subvention payment, and the property owners who enter into contracts may receive compensation from the local government.

Successful feedlot applications of Ruelene for cattle grub control were made on steers and heifers of several breeds with short- to long-hair coats. Treatments were made, on arrival, in September and October at Imperial Valley feedlots, to animals brought in mostly from Arizona and Texas. Control was effective with Ruelene at 50 mg/kg applied by the pour-on method. No serious effects from using Ruelene on the cattle were observed, and the occasional instances of very temporary side-effects were not considered harmful.

A spray rig with easily constructed booms to convey the hoses over fences can be used in the practical application of residual fly control chemicals to feedlots. Diazinon is the most effective and economical of the several materials tested in the Imperial Valley, where no significant resistance to the chemical has been observed thus far.

Birds can be a substantial regulatory influence toward the suppression of destructive insects in California's forests, according to this report from the Division of Biological Control, Department of Entomology and Parasitology, U.C., Berkeley. The Mountain Chickadee reduced an overwintering (and epidemic) population of lodgepole needle miner in Mono County by 30% during the winter of 1961–62. Grosbeaks were also observed feeding on the sawfly larvae in the Mount Shasta area. The role of the woodpecker in reducing bark beetle infestations is also being studied at Blodgett Experimental Forest, El Dorado County, as part of this long-term ecological research project to determine feeding habits and factors influencing population levels of various forest birds.

As the demand for water grows in southern California, more distant sources of surface water must be utilized (at increasing costs per unit), and it becomes increasingly essential that the management of imported supplies and local groundwater basins be closely integrated. The recent Supreme Court decision on the Colorado River jeopardizes the area's future supply of water from the river and intensifies the importance of making full use of southern California's quota while it is still available. For at least a few years following completion of the proposed aqueduct from northern California, import capacity will likely exceed that needed for current use. Construction of facilities for importing surface water is only one step toward stopping the overdraft of groundwater basins in Los Angeles County. An opportunity exists for building up groundwater levels while excess import capacity is available. Major institutional changes are necessary, however, for efficient joint utilization of local groundwater and imported supplies of surface water needed to accomplish this objective.

difficultyis usually encountered in promoting flowering of bougainvillea in the nursery. Several reports suggest that some species are short-day plants, yet flowering in the coastal southern California landscape commonly occurs during the spring and summer months when days are longe. Some environmental factors other than daylength apparently affect flowering in bougainvillea.

Although the citrus rootstock, trifoliate orange, is disease and cold resistant and offers good fruit quality, it is affected more by zinc and iron deficiencies than some other rootstocks, according to this report from U.C., Los Angeles. Other nutrient disorders seem to result from high potassium and phosphorus conditions, low magnesium supplies and certain nitrogen levels.