1908.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT- -No. 73. 23 



April and throughout May burlapping and banding operations 

 on street trees and badly infested residential sections were 

 carried on; while in the latter part of May and throughout 

 June and July spraying operations were prosecuted vigorously 

 and with great success. Throughout the month of May millions 

 of the small caterpillars, intercepted by the sticky bands used 

 in sections where the gypsy moth was most prevalent, were 

 destroyed by hand by means of steel wire brushes. Beginning 

 with the latter part of June and continuing throughout July 

 and August, the burlaps were well attended, with the usual sat- 

 isfactory results, this work being followed by the crushing of 

 pupae and the creosotiug of female moths and egg clusters in 

 many localities where their numbers warranted such action. 

 After the egg clusters had been deposited, the most efficient men 

 in each town gang were continued at work creosoting the clus- 

 ters from the ground upward to a point above the probable 

 snow line. With the " ground work," so called, well done in 

 this way, it is possible, no matter how deep the snow may be, 

 for local gangs to do effective work against the gypsy moth 

 throughout the entire winter. During the fall months, and 

 continuing to the time of the present writing, a great deal of 

 scouting work has been done both by the local gangs and by 

 employees of the central office. This scouting work involves a 

 thorough examination of street, shade and fruit trees, shrub- 

 bery, fences, walls, etc., the moth colonies so found being re- 

 corded and thoroughly treated. In this way the local organiza- 

 tions are able to obtain an adequate idea of the success of the 

 season's work, and a knowledge of the danger spots to which 

 special attention must be given the following year. 



An important part of the fall and early winter work has been 

 the cutting and burning of worthless, hollow or diseased fruit 

 trees, and the cementing or preferably tinning over of cavities 

 in the trees remaining, thereby doing away with notable nest- 

 ing places of the gypsy moth. Both in the winter and spring 

 work against the gypsy moth all brown-tail moth webs found 

 were removed and burned. The work against the latter insect 

 can be done to the best advantage after the snow has fallen. 

 The webs cut from the trees contrast strongly with the snow, 

 and make it possible for the " ground man ' to gather and 



